A Night's Echo
by Icy Heart. Beautiful Soul
Summary: 'This night changed us forever' I think as I stare into your lifeless eyes. I thought i could trust you, but all I can now do is cry. The other dex-holders, they're gone. Dead. It's just me and you. You a cold blooded killer, and me wondering when everything started to go so wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own pokemon or the characters. In fact I own almost none of what this entire story will be. Sort of. You see, this is my first adopted story. This amazing tale was created by A Lights Shadow. They were going to drop it and I couldn't bare to see it go unfinished. You should check them out some time. They are Extremely talented. So here it is. I'll pretty much only be responsible for grammar corrections and the very ending when I get around to typing it. Hope you guys like it as much as I did. ;)**

The room was pitch black. The darkness seemed to swallow it entirely. This was the night that changed our lives forever. Those events no one expected would happen.

Blood stained the floor. Its crimson color was a sharp contrast to the black that surrounded it. They looked slyly at all the dead bodies. A smirk appeared on their face as they looked at all the havoc they had caused. Bodies covered the floor. Fourteen of them in fact, and that's not an easy feat for one person.

They pulled a knife out of their most recent victim's back. The deep crimson blood seemed to have stained the knife completely. Of all the deaths, his had to be their favorite.

All due to the trouble he'd caused them. He had never been forgiven, even after all their deaths...

* * *

Crystal jolted awake, sitting up as she frantically looked around the room. She made sure everything was okay.

Her Xatu stared at her with its blank stare. Unmoving even as Crystal stared back. She didn't remember letting it out of its pokeball, but other than that everything was fine. She sighed in relief, before collapsing back onto her bed and stared at the blue ceiling of the room.

What was that?

She shrugged, before sitting up once more. This time to glance at her alarm clock. "9:26." She yawned slowly, before her eyes widened. "I've overslept! Hopefully there's still some time to get some of my research papers in!" She kicked the blankets off her, sending them flying to the end of the room, before jumping out of her bed.

She pulled on her clothes, a blue t-shirt over a pair of jeans, before looking in the mirror. Good enough. It really was nothing too fancy, or anything that bad for a seventeen year old to wear either.

She spun around, watching her hair swish instead of her clothes. No good. Better put it up. She put her hair up in a ponytail instead of her usual pigtails. Maybe that idiot won't know it's me.

Swinging her bag over her shoulder, she headed out the bedroom door.

Her mind raced. There was so much to do. She started talking to herself. "So if I finish up the paper on the process of evolution by stones... then I could start the paper on how pokemons breeding rates are affected by footsteps and by the one who hatches it." She sighed, knowing what that was referring to. Turns out she did need him.

Honestly, she loved her job. It was just that sometimes it could get way to overwhelming and sometimes she needed the help of a certain "idiot" to get things done.

She locked her door, before looking around the ever peaceful city. Children chased each other, laughing happily as they played. Older couples sat outside their homes, watching the children with happy smiles on their faces. Flowers littered the town. Their sweet scent was pleasant as petals flew around in the wind.

At first, Crystal didn't like the idea of moving to Cherrygrove City, but now she wouldn't change it for anything, even if she was slightly farther from her mother.

She walked away from her house, letting Archy walk along beside her as they went towards route 29. Towards the dreaded New Bark town. Dreaded to Crystal, at least.

"Hey Crystal!"

Crystal turned as she saw a girl run towards her, wearing the standard nurse outfit. "Nurse June. Whats up?"

The slightly older girl leaned over her knees, panting a bit from running. "Professor Oak passed by this morning. He wants to speak with you." She stood up. "I'm glad I caught you here. I thought I'd have to go all the way to New Bark!"

Crystal smiled slightly, "thanks June. I'll check it out."

She bid farewell to the nurse, before dialing Professor Oak on her pokegear.

Bring

Bring

Bring

Beep

"Hello?" The surprised face of the professor popped up onto her screen as he picked up. "Oh! Hello Crystal! It seems that you got June's message!"

She nodded. "Yes I have... So what did you want to speak with me about?"

"Well you see.. There's this place in Sinnoh that I want all you dexholders to check out.."

She arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

The professor scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, there are reports that people have gone missing... and nothing seems to work.."

Crystal nodded thoughtfully. "Very well, I'll try to tell the others. Who else knows about this?"

"Blue does of course, but he doesn't care..." Oak got an embarrassed look on his face. Blue was his grandson, after all.

Crystal snapped her fingers and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll try to talk some sense into him. Thanks professor."

"I should be thanking you! Farewell Crystal!"

"Bye!"

Beep


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello?" Ruby glanced at his pokegear uninterested. He was trying to ignore the brunette making faces behind him.

"Hey! Ruby!" It was Crystal.

Ruby focussed on the screen, fully ignoring Sapphire as she scurried over to his side. "Crystal? What's up? Are you alright? Where's the danger," he asked.

The black haired girl sighed. "Fifth person who assumed we were in danger. Anyhow! Is Sapph with you? I'm trying to tell everyone tha-"

The girl at his side perked up at the mention of her name. "I'm here! Nice to see ya senior," Sapphire shouted jumping up and down. Her head would appear just above Ruby's with every leap. She was basically using Ruby's shoulders as a springboard.

Ruby fell forward a bit, not ready for the extra weight. "Ah! What the heck!?"

Sapphire snorted and jumped backwards. "What? Can a priss like ya not even hold up somethin'?"

He turned on her. "Of course I can! At least my strength is normal unlike your barbaric amount of strength," Ruby snapped.

"What did you say?!" Sapphire's eyes glinted menacingly. "I will-"

"AHEM!"

They turned back to the pokegear to see Crystal's angry face. Seeing she had their attention once more, she went from angry to serious once more. "As I was saying, we're all going to Sinnoh to investigate something... and you guys have new juniors. You better not do anything like that around them."

"What?!" Both Ruby and Sapphire's mouths dropped open.

"Yes, now meet us at..." She paused and looked down. "At the Old Château in Sinnoh tomorrow, if possible. There's a ferry from Hoenn leaving at 8:00."

They both nodded.

"Okay!" Crystal gave a small wave. "See you then. Bye!"

"I wonder how the others are doing. We haven't seen them in a while." Sapphire leaned against the railing of the boat, not caring about the spray getting her wet. Ruby on the other hand...

"Ew! who knows how dirty that is! Get away from it!"

"Calm down ya priss! It's just water," she said with a giggle. Ruby cringed as she pulled him closer to the tail. "Its Sinnoh! Aren't ya excited?"

Some of the tension in his body relaxed. "Hopefully it will be a good experience. And they have contests!" He looked at the shore with new hope.

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Oh. My. Arceus," she groaned, emphasizing each word. "You're such a s***!"

This made Ruby snarl. "Says the barbaric p-"

A voice sounded over the intercom and interrupted what would have turned into a shouting match. "We are now docking in Canalave City. We hope you enjoy your stay and thank you for using our services!"

"Yes!" Sapphire didn't wait before leaping into the water. She was swimming to the shore before the boat had even gotten to the dock.

A girl raced to the spot where Sapphire had been standing. "Is she okay," she asked, looking over the railing. Her light blue eyes were wide. "Why would she..." the girl trailed off.

Ruby nodded. "I agree.."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Sapphire walk onto the shore and start shaking herself out like a dog. The girl next to Ruby shrugged. "Well, you two see like a weird couple, to say the least-"

"We are not a couple!" Ruby shifted his gaze around nervously. "What about you? You must have came here with someone."

"What? Nooo." Her face was dusted with light pink. "Um… Well... besides the retarded pokemon addict over there." She pointed to her right. To empty air. Wait! Where'd he go? She jumped in surprise. "What?! Where the hell is he?"

Ruby spotted a figure at the edge of his vision, standing on the beach.

"MY NAME IS BLACK AND I AM THE CHAMPION OF THE UNOVA REGION!"

Ruby practically fell backwards. Whoever it was, they sure were loud. His ears were ringing. Even though they were far from his location, he had heard it as clear as day. "Found him," Ruby mumbled, though he couldn't hear himself say anything.

The two figures on the beach turned to each other, before sending out two pokemon.

"SAPPHIRE," Ruby called.

"BLACK," the girl shouted.

This wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

Sapphire caught Rono's pokeball out of the air. "Hahaha! I beat ya! Are all trainers from Unova that weak?"

Black recalled Reshiram. "How were you able to beat Reshiram like that?!"

The girl smirked. She wagged a finger at him, as if he should already know the answer. "It's easy if ya have a weak opponent!"

This made Black bristle. He rolled the sleeves of his jacket up and started stomping towards her. "Oh you're asking for-" Black felt the back of his shirt get tugged as he lunged at the girl.

White slapped Black lightly. "You do not scream and battle!"

He struggled in her grip. "But White! It's my passion!"

In the meantime, Ruby had walked up to Sapphire. He sprayed the spray bottle at her. "Bad girl! You do not battle and provoke people!"

She hissed at him. "At least I don't squirt people with spray bottles!" She grabbed his arm, tossing him over her head and into the water. She ignored his girly shriek as he plunged into the waves. "HOWS DOES IT FEEL?"

White stared at the place Ruby had disappeared into the waves. "Will he be okay?"

She shrugged. Her nose pointed in the air as she turned her back on the water. "Who knows?"

Ruby dragged himself onto land, sopping wet and dirty from his ordeal. Then he promptly collapsed on land. "Well, we have to go. Nice seeing ya," Sapphire said rolling her eyes. She turned, picked up Ruby, and ran. Many people watched their retreat in concern.

White tilted her head. She wasn't quite sure what to think about the odd couple. "They were something weren't they?" No response came from Black. Her palm hit her forehead. "Oh come on."

Black already had Mush out of it's pokeball. Did he really have to let Musha chomp on his head now?

A moment passed before he pulled the musharna off his head. "Okay. We have to get to Sandgem. Right?"

White nodded. She grabbed her vullaby's pokeball, letting it out. "Barbara! I know you haven't been there befor,e but can you fly to Sandgem?" The pokemon nodded, getting ready to fly.

Black grabbed Brav's pokeball. "Brav can you follow Barabara?" The pokemon nodded.

"Let's go," they cried, and took off.

* * *

"It's you from before!" Black stared at Sapphire as he entered the lab. He had recognized her instantly.

Sapphire smirked and rocked on her heels."I could say the same about you."

"Wanna battle again sometime," Black asked. His eyes twinkled. She wasn't a bad opponent.

Sapphire lifted one thumb up. "Anytime. Anywhere."

Crystal glanced at Ruby. "So these were the kids you met earlier?"

"Ya..." he said sheepishly.

A small smile appeared on Crystal's face. She almost wanted to laugh. At least they were already acquainted. "Well, they're your juniors. Unova dexholders, to be exact."

She could see the surprise in his eyes turn to dread. "Oh God."

"That's exactly how I felt when you guys came along," a new voice cut in. It was Silver. He walked in, followed by Gold.

Ruby glanced at Silver. "What?"

Silver didn't answer. Just stared back with narrow eyes. Could Ruby really not get what he meant? Crystal decided to fill the silence. "We have had many reports of disappearances inside the château as of late, so we would like you guys to check it out. Considering how much all the dexholders had to handle in the past, we are the most capable after all."

Diamond shrugged, continuing to eat the cookies being served. "Dia! No, I mean Diamond," Pearl shouted. "You need to stop eating!" He smacked him with the wok he seemingly pulled out of nowhere.

Diamond rubbed the lump forming on his cheek. "But Pearl," he whined. "I'm hungry."

"Well our manzai -and this crap- comes first! Now come on!"

The boy sighed. "Fine..." Frankly, the Diamond didn't want to practice. He wanted to talk to the others. They were in a room full of heroes and pokemon masters. How could Pearl not want to get to know everyone? But he couldn't say no to Pearl. The boy was his best friend after all.

* * *

"So this is it huh? Wow! I would've expected it to be way scarier." Gold surveyed the interior of the building.

"What did you expect it to be," Blue asked.

He shrugged. "Ya know. More ghostly looking. I mean, enough to make it seem haunted." To make his point clear, he pulled back the skin near his eyes and stuck out his tongue to make a scary face.

Pearl and Diamond glanced at each other. "Well, senior..." Pearl started.

Gold let his face fall back to normal. "What?"

"It's said that a little girl and butler's ghost haunt this place," Pearl said proudly. "No one knows how they died, or why they're haunting it but-"

"Ha!" Gold doubled over with laughter. "What a load of b***! I-"

Crystal slammed her foot into Gold's back, making the boy stumble. "Gold! Do not speak like that to our juniors!" Diamond backed away from Crystal. kind of... scared by her actions. "If anyone's doing anything bad, it's you," she added.

Gold lifted his hands in surrender. He tried standing back up but she continued to loom menacingly over him."Really, Crystal, I-"

"If it would be okay Seniors, would you continue this inside?" The ever so blatant Platinum said, cocking her head.

"Platinum's right," Crystal said with a nod. Gold was steaming at the cut off. "It's getting dark."

They walked into the deserted building, looking all around. "Wow! This would be a great place to make a secret base! Right Silver," Green asked, turning to the redhead.

The boy glanced at his "sisters" happy face. "Yeah. I guess it would." He reached to grab his ursarings pokeball. "Huh?" His hand swiped empty air. "What the?" He looked around frantically.

Green frowned. "Silver? What's up?"

"I can't find my ursaring pokeball..."

Crystal grabbed his shoulder. "Don't you remember, Silver?" she asked reassuringly. "We were supposed to leave our pokeballs at the lab. Professor Rowan said-"

He brushed her hand off his shoulder. "Well screw that. I brought them along." Silver walked toward a room on the left side of the living room. "I'm going to go look for it. I'll be back."

"Shouldn't someone go with you?" Green cried. "I mean. if people actually disappeared here-"

He waved Green away. "Nah. I'll be fine. I have Feraligater after all."

"Okay. Be careful!"

He shrugged and left the room. Shelves curved around the wall. Most were lined with cooking utensils: knives, forks, spoons, you name this must be the kitchen? He scanned the floor for the pokeball, actually quite worried about his Pokémon. Hopefully he wasn't stolen. Or anything like that. God. hopefully Gold won't tease me about this. He would never hear the end of it.

He absentmindedly swiped his hand over the table, feeling something sharp cut into his hand. He gripped his hand, feeling blood seep through the cloth. "S***!" Backing up, he bumped into the wall, sending everything clattering. Smooth move.

Now he had to fix his mess. The cut was probably the most pressing issue, so he looked for something to help stop the bleeding. He stepped over to a must have a first aid kit somewhere.

He opened the cabinet with his good hand, before feeling something sharp punch through his back. He screamed in agony. "What the-" A black figure raised a hand, before bringing it down on the boy's head.

That was all.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey! Silver has been gone for awhile," Yellow called.

"Yah. He has. Maybe he went outside or something," Green said nervously. Even though she knew her brother could take care of himself, she couldn't help but feel worried.

"I'm sure he's fine Green," Yellow continued.

She looked down at the blonde, who smiled lightly at her. "Thanks, Yellow. I might as well look for him, though."

"Wait." Blue placed a hand on her shoulder. His green eyes narrowed. "It would be better if we split up. You know what Gramps said."

Green froze. "I didn't think of that. Could it? No... He wouldn't..."

Blue cut her off. "Ruby, Black, Crystal, Gold, and I will be on one team. Diamond, White, Red, and Yellow will be on another. Platinum, Green, Pearl, and Emerald will be the last."

Green nodded. "Okay! Let's go!"

"Not yet Green," Blue called.

"What?!" She skidded to a halt. "Don't you want us to find him?"

"Of course, I do." He rolled his eyes. "But I want your group to look around the mansion, and perhaps find a room to stay in for the time being."

She huffed in frustration. "Can't you do that?"

He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Look, I know you're worried about Silver, but we can't just give up on everything. Silver's probably fine and just wandering around somewhere. We came here because of a task, and we have to complete that as well."

She glared at him. "Fine. But he better be okay."

"He will be, I promise. Team one, head out towards the west hall, I will take the east, and the other team will go south." He pointed in each direction.

"Right," everyone said, taking off.

"How about we check the kitchen? That's where Silver went right," Black asked.

Blue nodded. "Okay, just keep an eye out."

Black nodded, looking around the halls.

"I hope he's okay..." Crystal muttered.

Gold laughed. "It's fine! He's Silver! He's probably the strongest out of all of us!"

"Isn't Red the strongest?" Before Black could stop himself, the words flew out of his mouth. He clamped his mouth shut.

They turned toward him. Gold glared at him. Crystal looked worried, despite herself, and Blue looked like he was about to kill Black. Right... Blue lost to Red. Black mentally reminded himself never to say something like that around Blue again. "But Silver's pretty strong as well!" He smiled sheepishly, dying on the inside as Gold and Crystal turned away. Smooth move Black. Smooth.

A shriek echoed throughout the halls. Everyone gasped in unison. "The kitchen!"

They raced through the hall and dining room into the tiled kitchen. Ruby's back was to them, arched and shivering. "G-guys." Ruby stuttered, backing away.

"Ruby?" Black looked at the floor. A puddle of red was at Ruby's feet. "What the… Is that blood," Black asked.

Ruby, who was still shivering, nodded slowly before following the trail. His shaky steps surprisingly quick. Gold ran after him in pursuit. "What are you guys doing," Crystal called after them.

"Looking for cookies- following the trail! What do you think," Gold snapped. The others glanced at each other before following. Their hearts started to drop as the trail grew larger.

The trail lead to the closet. Blue looked at them before throwing the doors open.

"Silver!" Gold and Crystal raced toward the bleeding mass on the floor, holding onto him as they looked him over. The blood seemed to be coming from his head and back. Not good, if he was alive.

"I-is he okay," Black stammered.

Blue placed a hand on the boy's wrist. He couldn't feel anything strong. He sighed, assuming he was gone, until...

"Guys..." Silver's voice could barely be heard, and a small flash of silver as the boy's eyes opened a crack.

"He's alive! We have to get him to the others," Crystal cried. Blue nodded, before grabbing the younger boy in his arms. He was careful to avoid the spike in his back, and with the help from Black, raced out to find the others.

The door slammed open, sending the other two groups into defensive stances. They saw Silver and their mouth's dropped open. "What the hell? Get out of the way," Blue shouted, pushing Ruby aside as he ushered everyone away from the table. He placed Silver's body on it with Black's help.

"Silver!"Green pushed through the crowd, kneeling at her brother's side as he opened his eyes.

"Sis?" His glazed over eyes stared at her. She gripped his hand. His hand was cold. Way too cold. He gripped her hand weakly. "Forget about me.. Okay?"

"What?! What do you mean Silver?!" She gripped his hand harder. More desperately, as if trying to keep him with her.

He smiled slightly, before closing his eyes. With that one last shuddering breath, he was still.

"Silver?! Silver?!" Green buried her face in his unmoving chest, sobbing each time she called his name.

"What happened?!" Emerald sat near Silver's body, eyes wide as he glanced at Green.

Blue sighed. "There are not many possibilities... Except for one." He glanced at Green, who still was sobbing hysterically as he spoke. "Someone killed him."

Crystal gasped. "What?! Why would anyone do that?!"

Blue closed his eyes, scratching his chin. "Who knows? But as much as I hate saying it, it is a possibility." He pointed to the spike in Silver's back. "You see that? That's a poison barb. This place is known for its ghost pokemon, and ghost pokemon don't have the physical strength to bury it so deep. There was no damage to the barb to indicate an accident, and the wound was to clean of a cut. It had to be someone who wanted to do as much damage as possible, and let the poison finish the job." He opened his eyes and sighed.

The room plunged into silence as Blue walked over to Green, putting an arm around her shoulder as he did so. Green buried her face in Blue's shoulder, looking up at him with wide eyes. "I heard what you said."

Blue froze. "You did?"

"He was murdered... I know it." She stood up slowly, gaze dark. "IT WAS ONE OF YOU!"She pointed to Platinum, who jumped back in fear."You! You have a poison type, don't you? It has to be you!"

Pearl jumped in front of Missy protectively. "Hey! Don't you dare speak about Missy like that! Who's to say it wasn't your nidoqueen, huh? It could've been you!"

Green face-palmed before her face grew bright red. "Well, I didn't bring my pokemon! So jokes on you!" She pointed to Crystal."What about you huh? You have a parasect, you could've done it, too!"

Crystal jumped to her feet, squaring the girl up."I would never do this to him! Silver was one of my best friends!"

"Sure! And I'm a-"

Blue grabbed Green, swinging her to face him. "That's enough Geen. You don't know anything!"

She grabbed his arms with her hands. Her eyes frantically scanning his face, as if the answer was written on it somewhere. "And what makes you say that? He was my brother! Of course, I know if I'm right."

Blue's gaze hardened. "Then how come you didn't notice the injury on his head? Green, it could've been anyone! So shut it and help us solve the crime, not provoke them!"

Green froze, tears welled at her eyes. "I just.. Can't believe he's dead!"

The door slammed open as four people rushed inside. One fainted immediately, collapsing to the floor in a heap. "Diamond!" Forgetting the dilemma from earlier, Pearl and Platinum raced toward the fallen boy. The others were panting, leaning on the walls as they caught their breath.

"What happened," Blue demanded.

"Monsters... Chasing us…" Red panted. "Had no choice... But to leave her..." He took his hat off and leaned on his knees. His hands shook and his eyes looked wild. It took a lot to shake Red up like this, and it terrified the others.

"What?!" Everyone stared in confusion.

He threw his hat back on and straightened. "Well..." he paused, unsure how to start. "It went like this..."


	4. Chapter 4

Red cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. "See anything guys?"

"Nothing over here!"

"It's the same over here.."

Same responses as before. Red sighed. So far they hadn't been able to find anything in the halls. "Guys, I don't think we are going to find anything here. Let's just head back."

Yellow came out from a room he had been looking in. Her eyes were glued to the floor. "Hopefully the others found him..." she murmured.

Red patted the girl on her shoulder. The smaller dex holder looked up to see the older boy smiling and giving his signature thumbs up. "Don't worry, Yellow! He's probably fine, like Blue said," he said with a shrug.

"Hey seniors! Over here!" Red turned to see White poking her head out of a nearby doorway. Her eyes were wide with hope and excitement. "We really haven't searched this room yet..."

Red felt both Emerald and Diamond shudder next to him. The room was rather dark. Strange covers were haphazardly thrown to the floor, along with a few boxes. The room was barely more than a box itself. There were no windows or other doors, and the bare, tattered walls seemed to press in from all sides. No wonder Diamond shuddered. Red wasn't to comfortable there either. He took a deep breath. "Okay, everyone! Stay together."

They searched throughout the room, checking corners, crevices and everything in between. Nothing. "Well, it would be better to head out. Hopefully the others found him," Red said.

The others nodded in agreement. They started towards the door, trying to avoid boxes that littered the floor… that is, until Yellow tripped over one. A strange beeping noise sounded, making the others snap into attention.

White stared at the box. "What is that?!"

"Let's get out of here," Diamond cried.

Rumbling shook the room, sending the kids sprawling. Red held onto the corner of a box and grabbed Yellow's hand as the rumbling became stronger.

Boom!

The walls came down, sealing each of them into their own little worlds.

Red scratched his head. "That's all I know. I wasn't there to witness her... you know. Dia was."

The normally calm boy was shaking badly. "I-i'll talk." Diamond slowly sat up, shaking slightly.

Pearl placed a hand on his shoulder."You sure?"

Diamond didn't smile. He looked... cold, as if something inside of him had been broken."Yes."

The walls closed in. The collapsing plaster and drywall blocked Diamond and White from the others. Diamond looked around frantically, eyes wide with terror. "What's going on!? Yellow? Red!?" No response. The walls kept the sound from travelling.

"I don't want to die... Not like this!" White hugged her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth as she began to hyperventilate.

Diamond placed a hand on her back, trying to comfort her."It'll be okay." He wasn't very sure of his own words, though.

The walls stopped moving In.

Diamond peaked out from behind a large chunk of wall. A smile lifted on his face. "We're okay!"

The floors lit up a dark purple color. Spoke too soon. Figures arose from the light, demonic smirks etched on their faces. Diamond and White took a step back. The creatures didn't look like any pokemon in the pokedex.

They advanced on their prey. Diamond and White stood back to back. The boy glanced back and forth. "We don't have our pokemon. What can we do?"

White stared at the monsters. "I guess we have to fight them." More and more of the creatures advanced on them. Some of them fused together into dark, deformed blobs. Their red eyes and teeth glowed from within their shadowy faces.

Then... they attacked.

They leaped at the two, latching onto their skin. Sharp teeth and claw like appendages dug into their arms, shoulders, back and chest. Diamond shrieked as white hot pain seeped through his skin. White fell to the floor, screaming, as monsters covered her. The THINGS were killing them.

No!

Diamond kicked the creatures crawling onto White. They would go flying across the room and slam into the floor, only to rise and charge at them again. Diamond groaned in desperation. "Why won't you die!?"

The flood of monsters pushed him back, away from his friend. More and more of them latched onto his skin. His vision blurred. White spots danced along the lines of darkness. Guess this was it.

He could still hear White's muffled shrieks somewhere behind him. Not that he could do anything for her. It was too much. His vision faded to black. Diamond had given up. The boy slumped to the floor, letting the things take him.

You can't give up.

The voice in his head echoed, making it impossible to ignore. 'Pearl's willpower' he thought. 'I'm just emotion.'

Emotions are what keep you alive. Keep going Dia. I know you can.

Mesprit.

Diamond's blue eyes flew open. The monster's weighted him down, but they wouldn't be enough to stop him now. Slowly, he picked himself up. The creatures dug their claws in deeper. Curling his hands into fists, he let loose, punching the creatures and knocking them off.

Desperately, he looked around. He could no longer see or hear White. The black blobs had completely filled the room. He was alone.

A guilty thought worked its way into his head. He shook his head to clear it, allowing a few more creatures to leap on him. It was still there, though. Nagging at him. I can't stay still for too long. She's gone. Ripping off a few more creatures, he looked around one last time. A faint light shone from the other side of the room.

An exit? It just had to be. One last look back behind him revealed nothing but more creatures swarming towards him. He made his choice.

His feet pounded against the wooden floorboards as he ran for it. The shadowy figures leaped at him, teeth snapping together against the air inches from his arms and legs. The light grew as he drew closer. Only a little farther.

That's when he heard it. "Dia? White!? Are you there?!"

He thanked arceus as he reached the other side of the room, kicking aside monsters as he passed. The burning pain from when the monsters had jumped him was becoming unbearable, and he felt himself slowing as he reached the doorway.

Fear of the creatures subsided. He was soo tired. Those voices sounded so far away, yet so close. His legs buckled. Diamond hit the ground in the hallway, face first. Every muscle quaked. Everything hurt. He closed his eyes. He was so tired, he didn't even care if the creatures had followed him out.

A hand grabbed his shoulder softly and shook him. "Diamond!" Relief washed over Diamond. That was Yellow's voice. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. The others were here. He would be ok. He finally relaxed, letting go. Everything faded to black.

"That's what happened."

Everyone stared at Diamond in awe.

Black raced up to Diamond and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "I don't believe you!" Tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. "Monsters? That's why you left her? Pfft, I thought you were a dex-holder. We don't leave anyone behind!"

Diamond's blue eyes were wide and sad. He placed a hand against Black's, trying to relieve some pressure off of his neck. "I know. I tried-"

Black's tears spilled over. He shook Diamond violently back in forth, making the others jump to their feet. "YOU DIDN'T! YOU LEFT HER!" He threw Diamond forward, sending him rolling across the floor and his hat flying. Black pointed at the others in the group, "AND THAT GOES FOR YOU GUYS, TOO! SHE COULD STILL BE ALIVE! BEING TORTURED BY THOSE... THINGS!"

Diamond stood up. He picked up his hat and placed it on his head. Then, without a word, shoved Black away from him. He wore a cold expression on his face, though a few tears had gathered at the edges of his eyes. Black stared back angrily. The others didn't know what to do. Was a fight about to break?

The two boys stared at eachother like that for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Black growled before turning away.

"Diamond?" Platinum stepped in front of him, looking quite unnerved by his stare.

"Yes Missy?" The boy looked at her. His bright blue eyes seemed cold. Almost scary. She backed away from him. Her reaction made him flinch slightly.

Black didn't seem to notice what was going on, though. He clutched his head and screamed in frustration. Or maybe it was fear? "Ugh! I can't take this!" He raced out of the room. Obviously going to go look for White.

Diamond looked around the room at the staring faces before following suite. Turning the opposite direction, he left the room in silence. The warmth still hadn't returned to his eyes by the time he disappeared in the shadows of the hallway.

Blue was the first to come back to his senses. He shook his head. "What the- those idiots!" He pointed around the room at a few of the dex-holders. "Team's one and three, plus Yellow. Go after them!" They nodded quickly and split, racing after the two boys. Red glanced at Blue, who only shook his head again and pressed a fist against his forehead. "We aren't going to last long like this."

"See anything?" Crystal called.

Pearl cupped his hands around his mouth and called back across the chateau. "No."

Team one (consisting of Ruby, Pearl, Crystal, and Gold) had followed Diamond. Unlike Black, the boy hadn't been running when he left. Despite that, he had somehow vanished. They'd lost him.

Crystal rubbed the back of her of us are dead... and it hasn't even been a full day." Her face held a sad frown, and her eyes seemed to have developed bags. The worry was starting to get to her."

Pearl whirled, his eyes sparking in surprise. "Don't talk like that Crys! We'll get out of this, I know it!"

Her brow furrowed. She clutched her jacket's arm nervously. "I… I'm sure we will. I'm not sure if Dia is OK, exactly, but I hope he is….." She cut herself off. Pearl was looking down at his feet. She instantly felt awful. Better to just shut up.

"What about Black," Ruby asked.

Pearl looked up and glared at Ruby. "He's the a** who got us into this mess in the first place."

Ruby lifted his hands in surprise and backed away. Gold snorted and smirked. "Whoa there. Didn't think ya had it in ya, Pearl."Crystal gaped at Pearl. He never used language like that. But in this situation, it would make sense. Diamond was is his best friend after all.

Time she started talking again. She pointed to the nearest room. "How about we check in here," she offered. The dark room looked like a good hiding place.

"Okay," Pearl said with a nod. He seemed much calmer now.

They entered the room. It was dark, but they could still make out their surroundings. It wasn't much different from any other room. Piles of boxes and sheet covered furniture. Something seemed off, though. Boxes were pushed out of the way, like something kicked them out of the way.

Strange.

"Black?!" Ruby called. "Are you in here?"

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…..

He took a step back. "Hello?" A figure moved across the room, its features hidden in the darkness. Ruby stopped. Maybe…. "Diamond? Is that you?" The figure looked up, a crooked red smirk gleaming. "Oh shi-" Ruby backed away, faster this time.

"That's not Dia," Pearl cried.

The creature raised a glowing red hand in their directions. Flames spurt out of its palm at them.

Crystal jumped back, pulling Pearl and Ruby back with her by their collars. "Run!"

 **Long one. I've really started changing a lot of how this story's set up. If the original author gets to this part, I hope you don't mind. It just feels right to keep adding to the story. Hope everyone likes it this way. ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

"Run!"

The others didn't have to be told twice. Gold had been standing closest to the door, so Crystal and the juniors had to run harder to catch up with him. As they caught up, Crystal leaped over a few cracks as they opened up in floors. She barely managed to drag Pearl and Ruby over them as flames erupted from below.

She glanced back to see the faint shadows of the monster disappear, drowned out by the fire. She then looked to exit, watching it go up in flames as well. The others met her eyes.

Oh no..

Pearl's face was contorted in confusion and panic. Gold looked like he was ready to jump through the fire. Ruby… well... Ruby just stared at the flames, watching intently as they rose and fell, and began to eat at the wood.

"There must be some kind of way out of this," Crystal screamed over the roar of the fire.

Gold glanced at her. "Of course there has to be! Is it that easy for someone as serious as you to give up?"

"You're one to talk," she snapped, letting go of Pearl and Ruby's collars. "Do you even have an idea?" She doubted it, considering all of his 'solutions' in the past.

That annoying little smirk of his flashed across his face. "Actually, I do."

"What?!" A spark of hope flickered within Crystal. Her eyes brightedned. "You mean-"

Gold cut her off. "I think we can jump through through the flames."

Her hope was quickly extinguished. Crystal's eyes widened. "Are you crazy!? We can't do that! We'll get burned alive!"

Gold backed away slightly, putting up his hands in a defensive stance. "Chill! Not like that." He pointed to the flames, which flickered back in forth in all directions. "There's a pattern." The flames parted for a few seconds, before erupting out once more. "If we time it right, I think we can get through this."

Crystal glanced at the flames again.

1...2...3...4...5...6...

The flames parted long enough to show the hallway on the other side before rising once more. She sighed and shook her head. "I'm surprised I'm saying this, to you of all people, but I think you're right."

Gold's smirk grew wider. He patted her on the head, which only made Crys' face flare up angrily. "I'm always right! Remember all those times I saved y'all?" He turned to get into position.

As soon as Gold turned his back, Crys forced a cough. "Liar."

He whirled around, eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

Smiling, Crystal ignored him and turned to the others. "Ruby! Pearl! Get over here!" The juniors were smiling about their senior's little argument, but Crys' order brought their attention back to the danger. The two boys came close, albeit sluggishly.

Crystal suddenly realized how hot she was, waves of heat pulsed around the room, affecting her as well.

The flames were spreading. Smoke clouded the room. Soon it would be low enough to choke them. That wasn't the real problem, though. It was getting hotter and hotter, and the temperature was starting to take its tole.

They had to hurry.

"What are we going to do? We can't stay here forever." Ruby asked, looking back at the flames.

"Ya! We have to hurry!" Pearl tapped his foot impatiently, beads of sweat starting to slide down his face.

Gold didn't look like he was faring any better, but he still held his grin. Crystal never realized how strong he could be. Not until now. He glanced at the flames. "You can jump through the flames. Like this!" He suddenly leaped up and charged through the wall of fire.

Everyone else's mouths dropped open. Even Crystal's. She knew he could be stupid and rash, but not that stupid. "Gold," Ruby screamed. He reached towards the boy before the flames erupted again. Crystal pushed him back, not wanting the younger boy to get burnt.

"Gold," Crys called. No response. A lump formed in her throat. "Gold! I swear, you better answer right now!"

Another heartbeat passed. Then the flames lowered. There was the cocky boy, waving and grinning like an idiot on the other side. "I'm okay guys! You just gotta time it right!"

Crystal let out a sigh of relief. Ruby wasn't as relieved as her, though. The younger boy took a step back. "He's crazy!"

Crystal's eyes flashed like steel. "But it's our only hope!"

"Okay." Pearl stepped forward, his amber eyes blazing in the flames flickering light. He clenched his fists. "But I'm finding you if this doesn't work!" In that split second, he leaped through the hole in the flames. His voice carried over the crackling flames moments later. "I'm okay!"

Ruby shuddered, obviously not happy with this.

Crystal patted him on the shoulder, hoping it would help calm him down. "Okay Ruby. It's your turn!"

He gulped. "Really?" His body shook. He looked back at the room one last time and sighed. "Okay... It's not like it'll matter if I make it or not."

Crystal sighed sadly. So he's still upset after the deaths? He thought everyone here was a dead man walking.

1...2...3...4...5...6… Ruby leaped through the flames, but the moment before he leaped, he stumbled. The boy barely managed to get through the flames.

Worried, Crys edged closer to the fire. "Are you alright Ruby?"

"I think- oh crap!"

Crystals jumped in panic. Not thinking about timing the flames, she leaped after him. The fire parted before her as she arced through the air. Her long legs easily reached the other side.

Ruby had thrown his hat off his head, the of it aflame. He kicked it into the ground, trying desperately to disperse the flames. When he was done, The charred black mass sat on the floor. The fire was out, but the hat was too far gone to save.

"That was a hat?" Gold cried in confusion. He looked up at Ruby's black hair, gaping as he saw his forehead. Pearl looked on from behind Gold. Telling by his face, he just as shocked.

Ruby's eyes widened as he remembered his scars. "Agh!" He threw his hand over the scarred flesh, covering it as he tried to pick up the remains of his hat.

Gold still couldn't wrap his head around it. "That's a hat?"

Practically the only one with enough common sense to remember the danger they were in, Crys took action. "Not the time! Come on!" Crystal said. Grabbing Gold's hand, she yanked him away from the burning doorway and started to run. The others struggled to keep up as she pushed them from behind, dragging Gold along by his wrist.

While she was pushing Ruby and Pearl, and it seemed calmer now that they were out of the room, Crys figured this was as good a time as any to ask the boy a burning question. "So... Ruby, what's up with your head?"

The boy flinched as he began to cover up the scars once again. "I don't want to talk about it," he said. His voice was barely even a whisper.

"Okay."

Silence washed over their group. They ran in silence for a while, Crystal still being the one to carry the other three along. Despite what they had just witnessed, their hearts were pounding less and less. Finally, they started to feel somewhat safe. Too bad the silence didn't last.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…

"Jeez Ruby," Pearl said, glancing at the other boy. "I know you don't want to talk, but you don't have to growl."

Ruby returned the glance. "That isn't me," he said slowly. His voice cracked on the last word, as his confusion turned into realization. A shadow flickered across the edge of Ruby's vision. "Guys..."

The lights went out. Crystal stopped running, making everyone fall flat on their face. Gold was the first to his feet. "What the f-"

Shadows rose out from the darkest corners on the wall, taking in the shape of small children. Only the shape, though. None of the details, as if the silhouette were nothing more than black holes in space. The things screeched. Their jagged mouths gaped open.

They all were thinking it, but Crystal was the first to open her mouth. "RUN!"

They raced out of there before the word had left her mouth. "Are you frickin' kidding me? Here we go again," Gold shouted.

The group scrambled back down the hall the way they came, practically tripping over their own feet. In fact, Pearl did trip. The youngest boy crashed to the ground behind the others.

"Pearl," Crys cried the moment she realized he wasn't with them. Her shoes squeaked as she skidded to a stop. Beside her, Ruby and Gold slowed to a stop.

Pearl was behind them, but the monsters weren't. The blond haired boy pushed himself back to his feet and waved at them shakily. "I-I'm Poke-Ayyyy. Get it?"

The others glared at him angrily, so he dropped his hand. Not the best time. Besides, it was Dia's joke, not his. Instead, he pointed behind him. "I don't think they followed us."

Both Gold and Crystal bent over panting. Ruby did the same. The run had exhausted them. It took a few breaths, but Crystal eventually managed to speak once more. "We should be okay now shouldn't we?"

Gold nodded. "I think-" He cut himself off. His eyes widened as they seemed to focus in on something behind her shoulder.

The world lurched as Crystal went flying. She slammed into the wall further back down the hall, making her shoulder throb with pain. Her other arm hurt as well from being shoved. It just didn't hurt as much. "What the- Gold!"

She watched as the boy swung his billiard cue at a monster, making it shatter and disperse. At the other end of the hall, another wave of shadows surged towards them.

He glanced back at her. Liquid gold eyes shone with determination. "Run Crys! Get out of here!"

A bolt of pain tore its way up her arm as she tried and failed to force herself back to her feet. Ignore the pain. She gritted her teeth. "I won't-"

The cue gave a sharp CRACK as it tore threw two more monsters who had dared come too close. And then, the truly unexpected happened. Gold laughed. "Just do it," he said, smiling sadly. "I don't want ya being the damsel in distress again."

By now, the two younger boys had made their way to Crystal. Ruby took her by her better arm and pulled her back to her feet. "Come on, Crys! He's right! If we stay here-"

"We can't just leave him!" She clutched at Ruby's shoulder desperately with her good hand. She tried to shove him out of the way, but he held her in place. She may have been older and taller then the contest loving kid, but he still seemed to be stronger.

"Oh come on!" Gold extended his billiard cue and pushed her back. "just go! I-"

Click!

The walls slammed shut, blocking both of the nearby rooms… and separating the others from Gold.

Crystal ran to the wall and pressed her ear up against the cold metal. She couldn't hear anything from the other side. "Gold are you okay!?"

His chuckle came through the wall muffled, but at least she could hear him. "I'm fine guys, I'll catch up with you as soon as I'm done with these b***. Now will you just go, goddammit?"

Reluctantly, she pulled her head back from the wall and stepped away. "Okay. But you better survive," she said. She meant it as a joke, but her voice wavered. The girl had already lost Silver. She wasn't ready to lose her other friend too.

Something banged the wall on the other side. Probably Gold's cue. "I will! Now go meet up with the others and tell 'em what's happening!"

Pearl, Ruby, and Crystal all nodded. "Okay," they said in unison.

Gold could hear their footsteps echo through the walls, then fade away. He faced the shadow mob. Their greedy eyes searched for a way past him and the wall. A way to get to the others. Smirking, he pointed his cue at them as he watched their numbers grow. "I will NOT let you a**** hurt them!"


	6. Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Group Two (consisting of Sapphire, Green, Emerald, Platinum and Yellow) searched the lower floor. The foyer was pretty empty, and Green couldn't go into the dining room where Silver was laid out without Green bursting into hysterics, so they decided to check the library.

Emerald leaped down from one of the bookshelves. "Nothing's down here," he shouted. Murmurs of agreement rose up from between the other bookshelves.

"We can't give up! Black's down 'ere," Sapphire said. She popped her head out into the main aisle and looked back and forth. The determined look on her face dropped slightly. "Somewhere..."

A hand reached out from behind the bookcase next to her and grasped her shoulder. "AAAAAAAAAGH!" Sapphire screamed and flung her arms out to whack whatever it was attacking her. The back of her hand hit straw, knocking Yellow's hat to the ground.

The little blond girl looked up at her sadly. Her eyes were wide and sad. "Saph, we have to head back." Water appeared at the edge of Yellow's eyes. The poor girl couldn't stand to see a pokemon get hurt in a battle, let alone deal with any of this mayhem.

Seeing Yellow on the verge of tears made Saphire's heart drop. She glanced around once more. Nothing but books and cobwebs. She couldn't detect anything, even with her amazing hearing skills. Her breath rushed out in a disappointed sigh. "Fine.

One by one, the others emerged from among the bookshelves and gathered in the center aisle. Green took count. Everyone was there. It was time to leave. As soon as they reached the library's exit, the floor started to glow.

Yellows eyes widened. "Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuys! We have to get out of here!"

"What? Why," Platinum asked. She took a step away from the glowing floorboards, more curious than fearful.

The smaller girl grabbed Platinum's hand and shook it. She yanked it in an attempt to get them out the door. "They're coming!"

A growling sounded as figures arose from the cracks in the floor and walls. Their large misshapen bodies spread out into more and more figures, easily surrounding the kids.

Little Emerald backed up until his back was pressed against a trembling Green's legs. His tall hair drooped. "Guys..."

The creatures growled, then… they leaped.

Emerald screamed. He was covered almost immediately. Flailing his limbs like crazy, he was barely able to knock off the creatures, and was soon buried.

Kicking her own attackers away, Sapphire struggled through the mass and pried the things off him. This gave him a moment of relief before others took their place.

"How do we fight them?" Green cried, face contorted in agony as some of the creatures moved from Emerald to her.

"Just don't let them touch you," Saphire shouted. Kicking a few more off her and taking a deep breath, she plunged into the mass of writhing shapes. She emerged a moment later with Emerald in her arms. He was bleeding, unconscious, and his breath was shallow. They had to get out. Now. She waved her free hand toward the doorway. "Guys! This way!"

The group headed towards her. Sapphire handed Emerald to Green and let the others run in front of her. Just ahead, a figure stood at the door, the light concealing its figure. Had the others come to help?

While she had been distracted by the shape slipping through the doorway, Sapphire fell. tripping over a monster. A shadow fell over her. She tried pushing herself up off the floor. That was before she was knocked backward, the hilt of a steak knife left sticking out of her chest. Numb, her eyes lifted to see the person move away and disappear. Or maybe they didn't leave? Maybe it was her eyes blurring?

Sapphire would have expected immense pain. But she didn't feel anything but shock. At least, not at first. Then came a slight tingling, and then she just felt warm. Warm giving way to cold. Blood pooled beneath her twitching legs. Breaths came in short gasps as she realized she could no longer breathe.

By now, the monsters drew near. They knew she couldn't fight anymore. She could barely move her head. The creatures started to crawl on top of her. Their burning teeth and claws speeding up the job. Black spots floated along her vision, blocking her sight. This was it. She coughed, feeling warm, bitter blood dribble down her chin.

She slowly turned her head toward the door, seeing colorful blobs disappear out the door. She smiled slightly. At least they were safe.

Her eyes closed. The last of her strength ebbed away.

 _I loved you Ruby, I just hope ya knew that. Goodbye…._

The library door slammed shut as Green, Yellow, Emerald, and Platinum ran out into the entrance. Well… maybe not Emerald. He was stirring awake in greens arms. His eyes shot wide open and he gasped. "Sapphire!"

But it was Green holding him, not Sapphire. He looked up at Green in confusion. "Where's Sapphire?"

The others gazes flicked from face to face, but she wasn't there. Green's eyes grew wide as she looked back at the library door. "She must still be in there."

Emerald leaped from her arms. "We have to find her!" He pounded at the door, only to have the creatures growl back from behind the door. Green place her hand on his shoulder. She gently pulled him away from the door. "We can't, Emerald."

He looked back at the door. The wood warped as the creatures pressed against it. Their furious growls came through. He clenched his fist. "What'll Ruby say? He loved her."

Yellow slipped in beside them. Her eyes watered. "We'll see when we get back. We can grieve after..." So that was it. She could feel it. Sapphire was already gone.

He dropped his head and nodded.

Green took the lead as they headed back to the dining room.

They didn't notice the shadow following them.


	7. Chapter 7

Emerald ran ahead and pointed toward the dining room doorway. "Hey! The doors over there!"

Green smiled in relief. She'd talk to Blue and Red. Tell them what happened. Come up with some sort of plan. "We'll talk to Red and Blue. We'll figure something out, right Yellow, Plat-" She turned around.

The spaces behind her were empty.

Green froze. Shivers ran down the back of her spine. "Emerald… where's Yellow and Platinum?"

Emerald stared back at her. He remained silent as his mind whirled. How could this be happening? The monsters were enough of a threat, but they didn't seem crafty enough to change walls and pick people off one by one. It's almost as though there's more than one thing, or person, behind this...

Perhaps a sort of... Team?

He looked up. "Green, you're right. We need help with this. We'll have a better chance with the others."

She looked back, as if Yellow and Platinum would appear behind them at any moment. "But-"

"Let's just go," he said, grabbing her hand. "I don't want to lose anyone else." Before she could protest, he dragged her through the doorway. She shot one last look behind her, just in case. Something flickered at the edge of her vision. It seemed… familiar.

What was that?

"They're certainly taking their time, aren't they?" Green said with a sigh. She continued to stare at the door. She was quietly hoping that Yellow and Platinum would return with Crystal's group. Plus, it was better then looking the other direction. Blue and Red couldn't find a better place to keep Silver's body, so he was still lying on the table.

"Uh, maybe they got lost," Red put in halfheartedly trying to cheer her up. He failed.

She buried her face in her hands. "That's even better."

Green and Emerald had came back after their little search party. They told the two boys about Sapphire, and the newly missing dexholders.

Needless to say, Blue was pissed. Gramps had told them they would be safe, and look what was happening He gritted his teeth. "They'll be fine. We're the dexholders, we always are." But, doubt swirled in his gut. He knew that wasn't true.

"Yellow? Seniors? Where are you?" Platinum called. Her voice echoed through the walls of the mansion.

Somehow, they had gotten separated. It had been dark, and though they didn't have far to go, Platinum had been slow to follow. (Well, Yellow was. Platinum didn't want to leave her.) But somehow, she ended up losing the small girl.

Now it looked like she was in another room. Maybe the storage room on the first floor?

Ghost pokemon flickered in and out of view, their creepy smiles distorted as they stared from the shadows. Platinum kept a hand over her pokeballs.

A gastly flickered into view directly in front of her. Platinum went for her rapidash's pokeball, only to have her hand swipe empty air.

Oh, yes… She forgot, nobody had their pokemon. Including her.

The pokemon chuckled darkly, its eyes glowing as its smile twisted into a demonic one. Then it rushed at her. She stumbled backwards until her back hit a support beam. The room started to shake as the rotten wood holding the ceiling cracked. Debris rained down on the girl.

Oh dear..

The gastly chuckled, before disappearing.

The room was crumbling.

Platinum frantically scrambled towards the doors as the walls fell in around her. Not fast enough, the roof came down on top of her. She was battered by the bits of falling framework. "Help! Anyone?!"

A large chunk of the beam she broke toppled over on top of her. It crushed her back and pinned her down. Glass from the window rained down on her as the window crunched under the weight of the falling held her arms over her head and the glass sliced her flesh wide open.

One of the chunks of wall toppled over on top of the beam pinning her down. Crunching filled her ears. It felt like every bone in her body was breaking.

 _This is it. I'm sorry everyone._

The last thing she saw was the soft rays of sunlight pouring into the room from the between the forest's canopy.

 **And that's the end of what was originally written. Everything from here on out will be entirely me. Ya'll are going to hate me when this is done. I'm so sorry. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

Pearl walked close to Crystal. Her arm was still hurt, probably broken, and she would have a harder time fighting if those things showed up. If anything happened, him and Ruby would have to help protect her. It reminded him of when him and Diamond had to protect Missy time and time again. He missed them. Maybe Missy had found Diamond by now.

He was shaken from his thoughts as Crys hit his shoulder with her good arm. "Wake up Pearl. Look! There's the doorway to the foyer."

The boy shook his head to clear it, then looked ahead. Sure enough, a dim shaft of light slanted out from an open doorway.

"Yes," Ruby shouted. The other boy quickened his pace and passed them. "Now we can meet with the others and tell them what happened. Maybe Sapphire and Emerald found them and we don't have to worry anymore."

"Ahem." Crys forced a cough and gave him a glare that made him stop in his tracks.

He shrugged his shoulders and gave a sheepish smile. "You know… then we just have to find Gold."

Her glare softened ever so slightly. She folded her arms… Well, more like she grabbed one shoulder with her good arm. "Yeah. That's what I thought you meant."

Pearl rolled his eyes. "Let's argue after we get back. Right now, we just need to meet up with the others." They nodded, and the group went back into it's awkward silence.

The three entered the foyer and made it down the steps, only to see Green staring out the dining room at them. "They're here," Green shouted, leaping out of her chair.

"Yellow and Platinum?" Red asked, poking his head around the entrance. His eyes widened when he saw Crys and the two boys instead. "Oh!" He got out of the way as the trio ran the last few steps into the dining room. "Glad you guys could make it."

"Crystal!" Emerald leaped from his seat and threw himself at the older girl. "I was so worried." Slightly surprised, she wrapped her good arm around him in a half hug.

Pearl and Ruby's eyes darted back and forth. "Hey," Ruby said. "Where's Sapphire?"

"And Missy," Diamond added.

Green looked at Red, Blue, and Emerald, begging them to help explain. Her eyes brimmed with tears. Red's eyes widened in response, but he shook his head and took a step away. Emerald pulled away from Crystal. His own eyes spilled tears. Looked like it was up to Blue to explain.

He gave a tired sigh. "Yellow and Platinum are missing." Pearl's mouth dropped open. He tensed, utterly stunned, but Blue wasn't finished. Ruby braced himself. "They were separated from Green's group while escaping some of those monsters hiding in the library." He looked at Ruby out of the corner of his eye. "The library Sapphire was lost in. Sorry, Ruby. If everything Diamond said about those monsters is true, then she's already dead."

The boy stood for a moment. His legs shook, then buckled. He fell to his knees. "Careful," Red said, rushing to his side. The older boy but his arm around Ruby's shoulder and tried to help him back to his feet. "It will be alright. We'll get out of this place, and then we'll have someone come back and find her."

Ruby wasn't listening though. Dead? She couldn't be dead. This was Sapph. She was as good at fighting and surviving as he was at contests. How could she be gone? It felt like his heart was ripping in half. He could still remember when she told him how she felt about him. And he had pretended it never even happened. Now he can never tell her how he felt about her…

While his thoughts swirled, Crystal's sad voice filled the void Blue's words had created. "Looks like we weren't the only ones attacked, then. We were cut off from Gold upstairs."

Red nodded. "I figured when he didn't show up with you guys." He finally managing to get Ruby back on his feet. "We'll go and look for him and the others ourselves."

Emerald wiped the tears out of his eyes with his large sleeve. "But this time, we have to go all together and stay together. Whoever, or whatever, is doing this can't attack us when we're all together. That's why we keep getting separated."

The others thought about this. Perhaps they were right, but how would they make sure they stayed together?

Crash!

A loud clattering came from the kitchen next door. Pearl had slipped away during the conversation when nobody was looking. Now, he stepped out of the doorway carrying a rope. One end of it was tied around his waist. His eyes shined with an amber fire. Every ounce of his willpower seemed to emanate out from him. "That's a good idea, Emerald. If we're going looking, then we're going to need this."


	9. Chapter 9

It didn't take long to tie the rope around all seven of the dex-holder's waists. They stood in a row, with Blue in the front. He was followed by Red, then Green, Crystal, Emerald, and Ruby, with Pearl bringing up the rear.

"Everyone tied in tightly?" Blue asked.

"We're good," Red said. He held his thumb up and smiled. Green, Emerald, Pearl, and Crystal stretched to be seen behind him. Determined smiles lit their faces. Ruby, on the other hand, only stared down at his feet.

This made Blue's brow twitch slightly in irritation. He knew the guy lost his friend, but nobody would make it out alive if he couldn't come back to his senses soon. Best to let it go for now, though. They couldn't leave him behind. Hopefully, Ruby would react and follow orders if need be.

"Good." Blue took a step forward, pulling the rope taut behind him. "Crystal, are you sure you know exactly where you left Gold behind?"

"Yes," she said, peeking over Green's shoulder.

"Alright," he said, taking another step forward. The others followed to keep a little slack in the rope. "Then we're looking for him first. Let's go."

* * *

Yellow shivered. The ghost pokemon in front of her seemed so familiar, but where had she seen it?

She could have sworn she recognized it from the moment she saw it downstairs. But when would she have seen a ghost pokemon before this trip?

She followed it up the stairs and into the hallway. The gengar drifted in front of her, just out of reach. Every once in awhile it would turn around and laugh at her, or stick its tongue out. It was starting to get on her nerves. She was about to go back when it turned and drifted through a door.

Yellow reached for the doorway on instinct. She paused a few inches from the door knob. Maybe it was a trap?

The gengar stuck its head back through the door. _Gen… Gengar!_ It still wanted her to follow. Thinking quickly, she shifted her hand to brush against the pokemon's head and read its mind.

Pictures filled her head. An empty room with a shadowed shape. A glowing red light. Bright wings. Someone laughing.

The gengar hissed at her and lurched away. It pulled its head back through the door. Her hand hit the cold wood. The contact was broken, and the pictures vanished from her head.

A wave of exhaustion washed over her, but she shook it off. What had all that been? It didn't seem bad, but it all had been so random.

She took a deep breath. Deciding to trust the gengar, she wrapped her fingers around the knob and pulled.

It was a bedroom, with a bed and a bookshelf. The gengar was gone. Instead, standing alone in one corner of the room, a dark silhouette shifted. It was just like the picture in her head.

She squeaked in surprise as the figure turned towards her. "No!" she screamed, turning to run. "No more monsters."

"Hey, wait," the figure called. It darted across the room and grabbed her wrist before she could escape. Darn her slowness. She yanked her arm desperately to get away. "Yellow! That's your name, isn't it? Calm down. It's just me, Black."

Her eyes snapped open. She hadn't even realized they were closed until now. Sure enough, the brown haired, cap wearing, fiery trainer from Unova. "B-b-but I… I thought y-y-you were one of those m-monsters…" she stuttered.

He let go of her hand. His face darkened beneath the bill of his cap. "No. I chased one up here and it vanished. I… I couldn't find White." Yellow felt her heart ache for the boy. "But," he looked back at the corner was standing in a moment ago. "I did find something interesting. You see that painting?"

She followed his gaze. A purple picture that seemed to depict a tree hung crookedly from a nail on the wall. "Yeah?"

"It stares at you," he said, walking towards the picture. "Honestly." She followed him, not quite sure what to make of it. Stares? It seemed to just sit there. "I'm telling the truth," Black insisted. "Like there really is a ghost inside. Maybe this place really is haunted."

Yellow didn't want to think about real ghosts haunting them. That made the situation even scarier.

Black furrowed his brows as they drew close. "That's weird. Hey, wake up," he shouted, hitting it with the base of his palm. "Don't go all normal just because she showed up."

"Don't do that," she cried, pushing his hand away. Her hand brushed the painting in the process. More pictures flooded her head. Blood. Her friends. A red light. Laughing. She pulled her hand away in surprise. She stumbled backwards and fell into Black. She hadn't been expecting to use her powers, and the sudden surge had weakened her. The picture lit up. Two bright red lights shone from the tree's leaves. They disappeared once in awhile, as if it were blinking. To top it off, a faint rumbling seemed to come from the walls.

"Whoa," Black breathed, lifting her back onto her feet. "You made it open its eyes again."

Yellow shivered. "We have to get out of here." Black stared at the glowing red eyes and nodded. They backed out of the door and shut the door. They didn't dare turn their back until those red lights disappeared behind the wooden door.

Black sighed in relief. "Jeez. I think you made that thing angry. It glowed before, but not like that. What did you do to it, Yellow?"

Yellow grabbed Black's arm and shook him. "I think I know what's going on here!"

* * *

Walking with a rope tied around your waist and six other people trying to walk behind you took a little getting used to. Blue was just starting to get the hang of it as they came to the top of the stairs and took a right down the hall.

"It was down this way," he heard Crystal call from somewhere behind him. "The wall cut us off just ahead."

"Let us know when we reach the exact point you last saw him," he called back.

In all honesty, he probably should have let Crystal or Pearl take the lead. They knew where to go, and his thoughts kept wandering from the task on hand. Emerald seemed to think that more than one person was doing these things. True, each of the kids had fought some evil organization at one point or another. If Emerald was right, then what group would have it out for ALL of them? White had been from Unova, Silver from Johto, and Sapphire from Hoenn. Three different regions. There was no gang that existed in each of those regions… was there?

"Here!" Crystal's voice shattered his train of thought. "This is where we lost Gold."

The group stretched the rope as far as it could go and lurched to a stop. "What? I don't think so," Pearl said in a frustrated voice. "Where'd the wall that separated us go?"

The rope twitched as Crystal turned to look at him. "I don't know, but I DO know that this is the place." She pointed to a crack in the wall. "That's where I hit the wall. Remember?"

Pearl's eyes widened. "It is. But… but how?"

Blue rubbed his forehead with a thumb in an attempt to clear it. "Quiet. We need to stop and think." He let his eyes drift over every feature of the hallway. Something had to be different. He took a few steps toward the crack in the wall, pulling the others with him. Near the wall, just under the crack, one of the floorboards was slightly raised above the rest. "Red."

Blue's friend almost jumped in surprise behind him. "Yeah? What's up, Blue?"

"Lend me your hat," Blue said. He didn't look back at the other boy. "I promise I'll give it back."

Confused, Red pulled his hat off. "Uh, okay. As long as you give it back." He handed it to Blue, who threw it onto the strange floorboard."

A rumbling sounded as the walls started to shake. "Everyone, step back," Pearl shouted. Blue felt himself yanked backwards as a wall shot out from the ceiling and cut off the rest of the hallway.

Red's hat was knocked back and twirled to a stop in front of Blue's feet. He leaned down and picked it up. "Here," he said calmly as he handed it back to a wide eyed Red. "It's just as I thought. Someone booby trapped the place."

"That's where I landed when Gold pushed me away," Crystal said with a shaky voice. "We must have set off the trap by accident."

Blue nodded. "And someone must have come to reset this one," he added. He began to notice more and more raised floorboards. They were barely different from the rest. Laid as if to match the uneven floorboards of the old building. It was a miracle they hadn't set off any more on the trip up here. "We'll just have to be more careful."

Slam!

The group nearly jumped out of their skin as the door behind them slammed shut. Blue struggled to turn around in the panic. Red's voice calmed everyone instantly. "Yellow! Thank goodness you're okay."

It was Yellow and Black. It looked like the tiny girl had been dragging him by the arm, or shaking him. The small girl's eyes widened. "Guys?"

Red seemed to forget he was still tied up. He lurched forward to see if she was okay, dragging Green and Blue forward with him. "What happened, and where'd Platinum go?"

"Red! Wait," Blue shouted. He grabbed a handful of the rope and pulled to keep them from moving, just as Red's foot hit one of the raised floorboards.

To Blue's horror, the floor disappeared below his feet. "You idiot," he shouted as him and Red fell into a dark hole.

They heard a yelp as Yellow slipped off the edge and Green was dragged into the hole along with them. "We're falling," Green shrieked.

The rope! Thinking fast, Red grabbed Yellow's hand as she fell. "Hang on guys," he screamed.

Crystal was pulled to the floor by the force of the others. Just before she went over the edge, she dug her fingernails into the moldy floor boards until they bled. Emerald scrambled to get a foothold, while Ruby and Diamond grabbed onto a nearby pillar. Black wasn't tied to the others, but he leaped the hole to land by the others and grabbed part of the rope. "Stop," they all screamed in unison.

The rope had no more room to let them fall, but their plummet didn't slow. "Gyah," Green grunted in pain as the rope pulled tight.

Snap!


	10. Chapter 10

The boys holding the rope felt part of the weight at the end of the rope vanish. Oh no. A terrible shriek of pain echoed from the hole. Crystal was screaming. He let go of the rope and ran forward. "We have to get them up. Now!"

Pearl and Emerald followed him towards the edge, pulling a somewhat shocked Ruby behind them.

Crystal was still hanging onto the ledge, grimace of pain plastered on her face. She was holding on with both arms, but for some reason one of her arms was bent at a strange angle. Below her, Green swung unconscious. There was no Red. There was no Blue. There was no Yellow. Only the frayed end of a rope hanging just below Green.

The boys leaned over the edge and struggled to lift the two girl's out of the hole.

While pulling her out of harm's way, Black accidently bumped Crystal's bad arm, making her cry out in pain. He pulled back instinctively. She was choking back tears. Holding herself and Green with an injury like that must have hurt like crazy. It looked like the pain had finally caught up to her.

"You okay," Black asked in earnest.

She nodded. "I.. I'll be okay." She pulled her legs in close and shivered. He believed her, so he turned his attention to the others behind him.

Emerald rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. "Thank Arceus you're okay," he said happily. "I was worried we lost you to!" The older girl opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when she saw the other's pull Green out.

Pearl laid Green out on the floor. Blood started to seep through her clothes around the rope. When Black placed his ear close to her nose and mouth, he couldn't feel her breath.

"It's to tight," Pearl cried. He tried to pull the rope around her waist to loosen it, but he couldn't even get his fingers around it.

Emerald looked at Black. "What do we do."

Black's face dropped. "We need something sharp." His eyes raked over the ground, the walls, the others. His eyes landed on Emerald's forehead. Perfect. "Emerald! That's it. Can I borrow your gem?"

The smaller boy's eyes widened. "My what?"

"Oh for Arceus' sake! Give me that!" A gloved hand reached over and snatched the jewel off Emerald's forehead. Ruby's hand. It glinted as Ruby lifted it high above his head.

"W-wait, Ruby," Black stuttered. Too late. Ruby brought it down on Green, slicing through the rope on her side in one neat swipe.

Green gasped as the sudden pressure disappeared. Her eyes flew open and she greedily inhaled large gulps of air. Her side bled a little more, but quickly stopped. There was no new wound where Ruby made the cut. The clothes weren't even torn.

Black stared, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe Ruby hadn't cut Green.

There was a loud clattering as Ruby dropped the jewell. It rolled to a stop in front of Emerald. "And Sapphire thought it was silly I put so much time into sewing for contests," Ruby said with a sad smile. "Takes a steady hand." He lifted one of his hands, palm outward as if to prove his point.

Beside him, Green seemed to have gotten her breath back. She lifted herself up to a sitting position and glanced at everyone. "How bad is the situation."

Crystal stood on shaky legs. Her eyes flitted the the ring of blood soaked clothes around Green's torso. "Um… You and have the worst injuries. Everyone else seems to be okay, but we lost-"

"Red, Blue, and Yellow," Green finished, staring at the gaping hole below.

"Gyaaaah! This is my fault," Pearl fumed. He pounded a foot angrily, making the entire hall shake. "If I hadn't suggested using the rope, Blue and you two wouldn't have been dragged in. Maybe even Red would still be here. You two wouldn't have been hurt so badly."

"Calm down, Pearl." Crystal placed a hand on his shoulder. "It was a good idea to keep us together." He dropped his head, so she continued. "You had now way of knowing this would happen." Pearl lifted his head. Some of the hope had returned to his face.

Green picked up the remnants of her rope. "Don't let this get you down, Pearl." She twirled the end in her fingers, tightening the frayed end enough to lengthen the rope. "We can't tie ourselves together with it chopped to bits like this, but I might be able to use this for something else. We might as well untie ourselves."

"Then what," Emerald muttered.

"Then we go downstairs." Green pointed at the hole in the ground. "That can't be deeper than the ground, so we go to ground level and look for them."

* * *

Green and Emerald shivered as the group entered the library. "Do w-w-we really have t-t-to come back-ck-ck here?" the small boy asked nervously.

Crystal waved her hand, motioning to the room around them. "This place is the only room directly under that hole."

Emerald sighed. "Okay…"

Green didn't look to happy either. The memory of the last attack was still fresh in their mind. "Let's just hurry up and get out of here, and remember to keep an eye out for traps like Blue showed us," she said.

They peered through the aisles of bookshelves one at a time. Not a one dared to stray far from the group. There didn't seem to be any raised floorboards, but it payed to be careful. Once in awhile, the lights would flicker. The musty books would be cast in shadow for a moment before the yellowed lights would flare back to life. Whenever this happened, the dex-holders would freeze until they could once more see the floorboards. Then they'd move on.

They had cleared half the length of the library when Black saw something that made his blood run cold. "H-hey… guys?"

"What's wrong," Green asked.

He lifted an arm and pointed down the closest aisle. Practically back at the beginning, barely visible in the musty light, a dark splash of crimson stained the floor and books.

How they hadn't seen it before now, Green would never know. Ruby was shaking uncontrollably. It looked like he was about to collapse. "Is that her," he shouted. "Is that Sapphire?"

Green placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, Ruby. There's no way to know that. After everything that's happened, it could be anything." He lurched forward in her grasp. He was going to take off. "Ruby! Don't!"

By now, Black had recovered from his own shock and confusion. When Ruby broke away, he was the first to react. "We can't get separated," he screamed and tackled the other boy to the ground.

"Let me go!" Ruby kicked and struggled, but Black held him firmly. "She might still be here!" A shadow fell over the two. Above them, Crystal watched with stony eyes.

"Are you sure you want to find her if she is," Crystal said, standing over the boys. Ruby froze. She had his attentions. Crystal closed her eyes and bowed her head. "We all know she was left here with those monsters. Do you really think she survived with no way out?" Do you really want to see what they did when they finished with her?" Their eyes locked for a moment. Her voice had been so cold. Cruel even. Her words terrified the others. She terrified herself, but is scaring Ruby is what it took to keep everyone safe, then scare him she would do.

Ruby lowered his head and slammed his fist on the ground. "No," he choked out. Black tightened his grip. Just in case. "No," Ruby said once more. Tears sparkled as they fell from his face and wet the floor. "I don't want to see. I just want this nightmare to be over."

Crystal's stony face cracked at his words. Everyone frowned sadly at his words. Black let Ruby go and backed away until a bookshelf blocked his way. Ruby didn't move, though. He lay on the floor sobbing.

"Oh, Ruby," Emerald said sadly. He couldn't watch this anymore. The smaller boy turned away.

The light went out for a moment, bathing the sad little group in darkness once more. When it flickered back on, someone was standing a few feet in front of Emerald.

The boy leaped back in surprise. His jaw dropped open, but now scream came.

They were turned the other way. It had one of it's arms out to the closest bookshelf. A book in it's hand hung sideways from the shelf. The figure lifted it's head at the sudden light. It shifted, then darted into the nearest aisle of books.

Their clothes had been too dark to recognize. The face, hidden in shadow. Yet something about the figure seemed familiar to Emerald. Emerald found his voice once more. "Wait! Come back," he shouted.

The other's turned in time to see Emerald take off deeper into the library. "Emerald," Green cried. She reached out to grab him, but he was already gone from sight.

"Should we go after him?" Pearl asked as he looked around the shelves. The runaway boy wasn't visible in any of the aisles. It seemed like Emerald had vanished into thin air.

Before anyone could answer, a loud noise echoed through the room.

Creak!

The noise pulled their attention to the bookshelf next to them. A book hanging from one of the shelves lifted itself back into place. The entire shelf seemed to shake for a heartbeat, then swung away from the wall.

Everyone's eyes flew open at the sight before them. They couldn't quite understand what they were seeing. Green brought a hand to her mouth and screamed. "NOOOO!"

They had found Red, Yellow, and Blue.


	11. Chapter 11

Green rushed into the space behind the bookshelf without hesitating as the other's stood, dumbstruck. "No! NONONONO! This can't be! Somebody, help me." She was hysterical. Too mortified to even cry. The only one to move was Pearl, and that was just to turn around and throw up.

It wasn't a pretty sight. Each of them had their arms tied behind their backs and a gag in their mouth. Bruises and cuts littered every visible bit of skin. The person who did this didn't stop there, though.

Red was lying motionless on the floor. His left shoulder had been ripped open so that blood, muscle, and bone shone in the dim light. One of his eyes had swollen shut and there was a gash on his forehead that was still bleeding.

Blue was the hardest to look at. He propped against the wall. His arms and legs were crumpled and bending in the wrong places where his bones had been broken. One eye was gouged out so that they could see the back of his skull through his socket. To top it off, someone had sliced him open from the base of his neck to his stomach. His entrails were just visible if you looked hard enough.

And then there was Yellow. Poor little Yellow. She hung from the ceiling by her neck, head twisted from the break in her neck. Brown boots dangled inches off the floor. Her once bright brown eyes now stared dully down at them.

Green ran from one to the other, trying in vain to help them. She pressed her hands on Red's shoulder to stop the bleeding for a moment, then she ran to Blue to lay him on his back. She looked back and forth before running to Yellow. "Somebody, help me!" she screamed, trying to lift Yellow to take the pressure off the neck. "JUST HELP ME!"

Ruby stepped forward. He passed Pearl who was doubled over and retching, Crystal who was clutching her bad arm and stared at the wall in front of her, and Black who had turned away and was pressing his head against a nearby bookshelf.

Out of all of them, Ruby's tear stained face was the only one that seemed composed. The boy had already seen more than enough death. Even if celebi had changed his timeline, he had seen people he cared about die. He could carry on. He stopped a few steps behind Green. "Slow down, Green. This won't save them."

Smack!

Ruby's head twisted sideways as the back of Green's hand hit his cheek. His face didn't change. He rubbed the side of his face and looked back to see Green glaring at him. "You don't know that," she said through gritted teeth.

He sighed and stepped past her. Her anger turned into confusion as he knelt down next to Blue and placed his ear close to Blue's nose. He closed his eyes and nodded. Then he pressed an index finger against the side of Blue's neck.

"What are you doing," she demanded. "That's not going to help him."

Ruby pulled his hand back and stood up. "You're right. He's already dead." Green opened her mouth to argue, but he lifted a hand to silence her. "There's no pulse. No Breathing. Nobody could survive a wound like that, and he's already gone."

All the air in her lungs came rushing out at once. It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. She stared at her friends broken face for a moment. "Blue…"

Ruby moved on to Yellow. Crouching down, he gathered the small girl's legs in his arms and lifted her until the noose slipped down her head. Once it was loose, he pulled her forward until it slipped off her head. Crystal and Black peered into the space as he spread her out on the floor. Pearl wiped his mouth and peeked in from outside the room. They had come to their senses. Too bad they didn't know how to help.

Ruby brought his head close to Yellow's nose and rested his finger on her neck. He knew the poor girl was already gone, but he went through the motions for Green's sake.

Green sunk to her knees as he shook his head and moved on to Red. "I'm so sorry," she wailed. She buried her face in her hands, twisting her bangs in her clenched fingers. "I should have been faster. First Silver, now you three… I'm all alone."

"That's not true," Crystal said. She rushed to the other girl's side and shook her shoulder. "You're not alone. We're still here. We're going to get back home to the professor and your parents."

While she comforted Green, Ruby checked Red. He placed his ear close to his nose. No breath… wait!

A weak breeze hit his ear. Could it be? Ruby pressed his finger to the side of Red's neck. A weak pulse! He nearly fell over he turned so fast. A smile lit his face. "I think Red's alive."

Crystal stopped mid sentence. Green peeked above her fingertips. "R-R-Red?"

"Really," Ruby shouted. He whipped back around and got to work untying the gag and restraints. "I've got a pulse, and he's breathing. There's no doubt about it. Red's alive." Now the others could make out the telltale signs. The rise and fall of his shoulders, the pained strain in his face…

Green scrambled away from Crystal and shook Red's intact shoulder. "Red! Red, you have to wake up. Come on, Red. Open your eyes."

His eyes scrunched up painfully for a moment, then fluttered open. Well… one fluttered open. The other was still swollen shut. He stared blankly at Green and Ruby for a moment, then shone as he recognized who they were. Ruby lifted the gag from his mouth. "There," Ruby said as he tossed the rag over his shoulder. "Now you can talk."

"I can't believe it," Red rasped. He tried to push himself up to a sitting position, but his arm caved and he fell back onto his back. "How… how'd you find us?"

"Kind of an accident," Crystal said, coming close. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Red said. He rubbed his hand and tried to sit up again. This time, Pearl stepped forward and helped him stay up. Red rubbed his head, smearing blood from the gash on his head. "I remember hitting the ground with Yellow in my arms. Blue landed next to me, and then everything goes black." He wiped his bloody hand on his shirt and lifted his head. "Wait, if you found me then do you know where Blue and Yellow are?"

Ruby and Green shot each other a look. "You really don't know?" Green asked. Tears finally started to form in her eyes.

"No," he said in a confused voice. "What's wrong?" He wobbled a bit as he struggled to his feet. He lifted his head to look around. Too late, the others realized the situation and rushed to stand in front of him to block his vision. They couldn't make him unsee what he already saw, though. "Yellow… Blue…" Red whispered in disbelief. Green took his arm to support him as he stumbled forward. The others parted to let him through.

"Sorry, Red," Ruby said from behind him. "We found them like this."

Red wasn't listening though. A low moan filled the room as he yanked his arm from Green's hand. Unsteady on his feet, he scrambled away and bumped into the doorway on his way out into the library. Nobody followed him. He needed his space. Besides, they could tell he hadn't gone far. They could hear the sound of him retching and sobbing in the aisle outside.

* * *

Emerald didn't know how long he had been chasing after the figure. It felt like forever, and his legs burned with the effort of keeping the stranger in sight. "Please stop," he gasped. The person in front of him glanced back, then darted into the next aisle of shelves.

Finally, he had to quite. He slowed to a stop and doubled over panting. "Come… (pant) back… (pant)" It was useless. They were too fast, and he never was good at running.

When he regained his breath, Emerald straightened and walked between the bookshelves the stranger disappeared behind. They were long gone. He scratched his head and thought a moment. What had they been doing while the light was out? Who were they? Emerald had thought they seemed familiar, but that didn't help at all.

Emerald's gaze drifted over the rows of books above him. The stranger had been pulling a book out. This place was full of booby traps. Maybe it was one of those traps you only see on tv? The one where you pull out a book and a secret passage opens up. Or what if it did something worse?

He realized with a jolt that he wasn't with the others anymore. Who knew how far away he'd run? His heart beat faster, threatening to beat right out of his chest. His feet pounded the floorboards as he took off running. He needed to find them. "Where are you," he shouted. "Where are you… are you… you…" His voice echoed back. That terrified him even more. This place couldn't be that big, could it? "Someone help!"

Something made a loud thump on the shelf next to him. Emerald skidded to a halt. His eyes shot to the top of the bookshelf. The figure he had been chasing was standing on top of the shelf!

"It's you," Emerald breathed, staring up at them. They lifted an arm and pointed back the way he came. Far, far down, Emerald could just make out the figures of his friends at the end of the aisle. The stranger was showing him the way to go. But, it wasn't really a stranger. From this vantage point, he could see who it was clearly. "How did you…"

They shook their hands to stop him and pointed at the shelf behind him. Emerald turned to look at what they were seeing. "What?"

Big mistake. The moment Emerald looked behind himself, a hand shot out and lifted him by the front of his shirt. The boy let out a bloodcurdling shriek before a knife whistled through the air.

* * *

The scream stopped as suddenly as it started. Silence fell over the library for a heartbeat, then crashing as loud as thunder shook the place to its core.

Ruby's eyes widened. "That was Emerald."

Green nodded. "He sounded terrified, but what's that other sound?" The remaining dex-holders rushed out of the space behind the shelf. Before them, aisles and aisles of bookshelves toppled over. Books spilled to the floor as they tipped and knocked over the next shelf. The chaos spread as every row of shelves fell over, domino style.

Red was still among the shelves.

He had his back to them. The arm with the ruined shoulder pressed against a shelf to help hold him up. "Red," Green shouted as the falling shelves came closer and closer. "Get out of there!" He turned towards them at her words. Confusion and fear was etched on his face. "Don't just stand there," Green screamed and waved her arms. "We gotta go."

Red regained control of his feet. He took off down the aisle at them as the falling bookshelves came close. The kids left the space in the wall and started running towards the way out. Green waited a heartbeat longer than the rest. When Red reached the end, she grabbed his arm and half ran, half dragged him towards the exit.

Six pairs of feet pounded the floorboards. They ran ahead of the crashing and out the door. Behind them, the last heavy bookshelf toppled over. It fell sideways, taking out the light by the door and blocking the way back in.

They couldn't go back, even if they wanted to.

 **God, am I twisted? 0_O I'm so sorry world.**

 **While I'm interrupting the story to comment, I might as well ask. Who do you guys think the killer is? Emerald obviously recognized that person in the library, and I left a few clues, but I still want to keep it pretty confusing. Let me know what you think so I can know if I'm doing my job right. :D**

 **Or not, and just enjoy where the story takes you. ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

Red threw himself at the bookshelf in the doorway. His good shoulder slammed into the wood, but he bounced of. It didn't budge. Beside him, Green pressed her palms against the shelves side. She would look every time the boy picked himself up and hit it, but continued to push.

"Stop it," Crystal shouted. She stood behind the two with Pearl, Ruby, and Black. "It's useless. The shelf is too heavy. You're not going to get back in, and after everything that's happened in there, I don't think we want to get in either."

Red picked himself off the floor once more. "Blue, Yellow, and Emerald are still in there," he said without looking back at her.

Green relaxed her arms and pulled them away. They tingled at the sudden relief of pressure. She rubbed her sore shoulders and turned to face the others. "We won't leave them," she said sadly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Pearl burst out. He waved his hands back and forth in frustration. "Emerald left us. And we can't save Blue and Yellow. They're DEAD!" Everyone flinched as he emphasized the last part. "As if we could get inside anyway," he continued somewhat more cautiously. He pointed first at Green's bloody torso, then Red's mangled shoulder, then he whipped around and pointed at Crystal's arm. "Look at you three. You should be in a hospital right now. Running into a freakin' bookshelf will only make things worse."

Crystal rested her good hand on his shoulder to calm him. He felt her touch and clammed up. Growing red in the face, he lowered his head to stare down at his feet. "Pearl's right. A little stressed and harsh, but right." Pearl seemed to grow redder at her words.

Green and Red couldn't meet Crystal's eyes. "We're not that hurt," Red mumbled halfheartedly. All the determination and anger had left him. Green slumped against the wall and sighed.

Black's voice cut through the silence. "Maybe… Pearl's right about more." The other's turned to face him. The boy hadn't realized he'd said anything out loud, and when everyone turned to look at him he realized his mistake. Black slapped a hand over his mouth.

Crystal blinked in surprise. "What do you mean, Black?"

"I-I mean," he said between his fingers. He pulled his hand down and took a deep breath. Back to normal. "I mean being in the hospital. And not here." They stared at him blankly. He shrugged. "Why don't we just leave? Whatever's going on here, it's too much for us to handle. We've been trying to deal with everything ourselves, but we were never prepared to deal with all this crap. If we leave, we could get Crystal and Red and Green to a hospital. We could tell everyone about what happened here, and we could come back ready to save the others."

Everyone stared wide eyed at him as he finished. It was so silent, you could have heard a pin drop. Black rubbed the back of his head. Stupid. Of course they must have already thought about leaving. This was the worst time to bring it up.

"I never thought about that," Crystal said. Black's jaw dropped.

"Maybe that IS the best option," Ruby said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Can we really leave without the others," Green asked. Her eyes wandered back to the library, then the dining room door. "Even without…" She didn't finish, but the others knew what she meant. Without the corpses.

"We could send help back to pick them up," Crys said, thinking out loud. She looked at Pearl. "You know the fastest way out of this forest to civilization, right?"

He glanced at her in surprise, but nodded. "Yeah. I know the way. We could go to Eterna City and go to the pokemon center… Does that mean we really can go?"

Everyone shot a look to Red, the only one who had remained silent. The older boy was staring down at his shoes. His hands were clenched into fists. They stared at him for what felt like a lifetime before Red finally nodded his head. "We should go," Red muttered and lifted his head. He was scowling. An angry, determined glint came to his amber eyes. "We'll go, then make sure the bastards responsible for this pay."

A small smile worked its way onto the other's' faces. "You know it," Black shouted as he lifted a fist. They'd come back with a vengeance.

Red nodded at the youngest member of the group. "Lead the way, Pearl."

Pearl shuddered slightly. He could do this. He'd just need to focus on his will to get out alive. The boy lifted an arm and pointed to the far end of the foyer. "The door out is there. Follow me."

SLAM!

As quickly as the words left his mouth, the door and windows flung open. Light filtered in from outside, illuminating the dust motes and sending a cold breeze through the chateau. The door swung closed slightly from the force of being flung open, but hung ajar.

Everyone in the group exchanged glances. Slowly, they creeped closer to the door. Pearl wanted to hang back behind the rest, but Black pushed him forward. "Not chickening out on us, are you? You're supposed to be showing us the way, after all."

Pearl opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it back shut. Stupid Black. Instead of letting the Unova trainer push him along, he picked up his dragging feet and strode on ahead of the others. When they reached the door, he lifted a hand for the others to wait. Then he slid forward. He could just see out the doorway from this angle. Outside, the trees were softly rustling, the sun was shining, and grass type pokemon were playing in the tall grass. Pearl turned to the others and gave a thumbs up. "All clear!"

A shadow fell over the sun, keeping the light from entering the building. Ruby looked past him. His eyes widened and he pointed past the junior. "You might want to check again, Pearl."

"Huh?" Pearl turned. Dozens of zubats and golbats dove out from the tree branches above. Their bodies blotted out everything in sight as they swarmed together, then dove at the doorway. The dex-holders scrambled to get out of the way as the swarm of shrieking pokemon flooded into the building.

"Zubats! Golbats!" Crystal shrieked and dove out of the way.

"Of all pokemon, why them?" Ruby shrieked.

Their words were lost in the beating of wings. The dex-holders were battered and scratched as the pokemon dove past them and back again. A few who had been standing close to the door tried to run outside, but the door had shut as soon as the pokemon entered. "AAAAAH!" Shrieks broke out as the pokemon started picking up some of the trainers.

Crystal was surrounded in a living vortex as the pokemon swirled around her. As she whacked a zubat away with her arm, she could see for a moment until the beating wings once more filled her vision. Nearby, Pearl slipped and fell to the ground. His eyes widened in fear, before he was whisked backwards into the shadows by his legs. Overhead, two golbats were carrying a kicking and screaming Black up through the upstairs doorway. Two golbats were tearing at Red's bad shoulder, trying to get a taste of his blood.

It was madness for what felt like an eternity. Then the pokemon were gone.

The batlike pokemon dispersed more quickly than they had appeared. The remaining trainer's crouched on the floor, in case the pokemon returned. When the swarm didn't return, Crystal stood up on shaky legs.

"Okay, everyone," Crystal said, taking a deep breath. "Let's do a roll call. Who's left?"

A shivering Ruby picked himself up off the floor. His black hair was ruffled, and he had a few bite marks running up and down his arms. "I'm okay."

Red popped his head out over the upstair's railing and looked down at them. The swarm had carried him up the stairs before it disappeared. He was pale with blood loss. His torn shoulder had been ripped open further, so that the gash ran down his forearm. There was even a zubat fang poking out of the soft tissue near his neck. He reached other with his other arm and yanked it out with a groan. "I'm still here too," he said in a pained voice.

No one else spoke. Crystal looked around. "This can't be all that's left of us," she said in a cracked voice.

Ruby pulled out his glasses and took in the rest of the room. He groaned when he saw the left staircase. "Um, Crystal? I think there's one more, but you're not going to be happy."

Red took a few steps away from the railing, his legs shaking. "Why's that, Ruby?" he rasped.

The younger boy pointed towards the bottom of the red stained staircase. A limp figure lay draped across the bottom few stairs. "I think Green's dead."

The zubats eventually dropped Pearl next to one the two beds in the upstairs bedroom across the hall from the foyer entrance.

"Ack!" He tumbled to the floor as they let go. "That's right you better leave me be," he shouted at the retreating pokemon. When they vanished from sight, he sighed and lifted himself to his feet. At least they didn't try to drain his blood, right?

But why did they bring him here? His amber eyes scanned the room around him. Nothing had changed since Diamond and him had last visited the chateau. Back when he had thought it was safe. Nothing but a few beds and a broken up floor.

The thought of his friend made his stomach drop. Diamond was still missing. "Huh. I hope him and Missy are still alive," he said under his breath.

"EEE HEE HEE HEE! Wouldn't you like to see them again?" A shrill cackling floated through the door.

Pearl was back on his feet in an instant. "Who's there? Show yourself," he demanded. His hands clenched into fists at his side.

The hallway outside the door light up for a split second. Someone was standing outside. Their face burned its image into Pearl's mind. His mouth dropped open. He stood shell shocked, frozen in awe and surprise. "It can't be. Dia… is… is that really you?"

"Die," the voice hissed seconds before shadowy creatures reached out from under the closest bed.

The boy didn't even have time to scream before they dragged him down with flaming hands. The fire leaped from their claws onto his clothes, searing his flesh while they ripped into his flaming body with needle-like teeth.

The figure in the hallway stood motionless, watching as Pearl fell. Watching as he died and the creatures grew bored of his charred carcass and melted once more into the shadows. "Good riddance to him," the voice said with a giggle. The figure lowered their head. "You deserved it to, fool."


	13. Chapter 13

"Shit," Red hissed. He dropped the fang and rushed down the staircase, using the railing to hold himself up.

Crystal made it to Green first. Ruby and Red appeared next and stared over her shoulders. Green's eyes stared blankly at the space above her. Her skin was ghostly pale, and the bottom of her shirt had been ripped to tatters. There were bite marks along her torso where the rope that had once been around her waist had cut through the skin.

"I got her," Crystal said. With her good arm, she shifted the older girl off of the bottom steps onto the floor. Then she remembered how Ruby had checked to see if Red was alive. She held her breath and brought her ear close the Green's mouth.

No breathing.

Of course not. She sighed and pulled away. One of her fingers rested on Green's neck for a moment, just under the jaw bone.

No pulse.

"She's gone, isn't she," Red said dejectedly. Crys nodded. He slumped against the railing and let himself slide to the ground. His face revealed nothing. Stoic. It was hard to tell if he was hiding his sadness, or if he had finally gone numb. "Of course she's dead. Why would I even hope?"

"It looks like the zubats and golbats went straight for the open wound on her waist," Crystal said. "They can smell blood from miles away, after all. There were so many… They must have fed until she didn't have any blood left." She glanced at Red, and his bloody and bitten shoulder. "They probably tried to do the same to you. I'd say it's pure luck they left before they finished you off."

Red looked away. He didn't want to hear her logical way of telling him how lucky he was. He didn't feel lucky.

Crystal stood up and backed away from the body, giving Ruby a chance to take a closer look. He kneeled down next to her. The younger boy looked at Green sadly. With a gentle, steady hand, he reached out and shut those vacant eyes. "I've seen enough death. I wish I still had that one pokemon. The one that brought me to a new timeline," he murmured. "Maybe then I could make things different."

"It's no use wishing for something we don't have," Crystal said. "There's not much more we can do then leave. Leave, and take her with us." She took a few steps away from the boys and reached for the door. The knob wiggled, but the door didn't budge. "It's stuck."

Ruby stood up. "Let me try."

"I'll try the windows too," Red said as he picked himself up.

They both stepped over Green to get a closer look. Crystal stepped aside as Ruby approached. As he turned the handle, he shoved his shoulder into the door. The wood seemed to bend beneath his weight, but remained firmly shut. "Darnit. We can't open the door again."

"We can't leave through the window either," Red called from his place by the window frame. "It's latched from the outside."

"Can we smash it?" Crystal asked, her eyes scanning the floor for something heavy.

Red shrugged, then winced in pain. He had forgotten about his bloody shoulder. "It's worth a try."

Ruby's voice drifted from somewhere behind them. "Way ahead of you." The two older dex holders turned in time to see him lift the pokemon statue next to the dining room doorway off its pedestal. Struggling with the effort to lift the heavy carving, he waddled closer to the window. "Move!"

Wide eyed, Red and Crystal scrambled backwards out of the way.

"Here goes nothing," Ruby grunted. With a heave, the statue tumbled through the air towards the window.

CRASH!

The glass shattered. Debris flew every which way, and the dex holders had to duck to avoid the shards. As soon as glass stopped falling, they looked up at the wreckage.

"Are you kidding me?" Ruby cried.

It was stuck. The statue had shattered the window pane, but it had been larger than the window frame. The carved piece of stone filled the window, preventing any chance of slipping outside.

Crystal patted his shoulder. "I was sure it was going to work. It was a good plan."

"Maybe we can try pushing it through," Red suggested. He stepped forward and pressed his back against the portion of the statue still in the room.

Crystal and Ruby joined him. They ignored the bits of remaining glass falling around their feet and pushed until they were exhausted. The statue hadn't budged.

"That's it," Crystal said in defeat. "We're stuck here. There's no way out."

"Don't -pant- say -pant- that," Red said between pants. He took a few deep breaths before continuing. "There has to be something we can do."

"Oh yeah?" she snapped. "Then what's your plan."

Red's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Crystal was usually the calm one of the bunch. "I… I don't know, but I'll think of something. I always do." She gave him a skeptical look, but said no more. He'd think of something, he just needed a little time to think. This wasn't like a battle where he could come up with a strategy in no time.

"If you don't mind," Ruby chimed in. "I really don't think Green would have wanted to be left in the middle of the floor. Can we at least put her in the dining room with Silver while you come up with a plan?"

The two older dex holders frowned. Red had known Green and how much she cared for Silver. Crystal had known Silver and how much he had looked up to Green. For a moment, their hearts were heavy with guilt. Why hadn't they thought to put their friends together like they would have wanted? Why hadn't they thought of that? Instead Ruby, who barely even knew the two, had thought of it.

"Good idea," Red said as he put on a small smile. "How about you help me carry her into the dining room?"

"Yeah," Ruby said with a nod. "No problem."  
"I'll help too," Crys said. She held her bad arm close. "I can't do much, but I can at least help steady her."

And so they did. Since Ruby was the least hurt, he carried Green on his back. He hadn't planned for that. The thought of having a body lying on his back freaked him out so much, that Crystal ended up having to talk him through it while Red supported Green from the side so she wouldn't fall off.

"I can't do this," Ruby said in a panic.

"You can, Ruby," Crystal said. She walked backwards a few steps ahead of him. Facing him so that he could see her face. "You see. You're almost in the dining room. I'm already in. Just a few more steps."  
"Uh, I don't mean to be rude," Red called from the back. "But could you hurry? Green's slipping back here and Ruby isn't bothering to keep a hold on her."

"Come on, Ruby," Crystal said, trying once more. "A few more steps, and you can put her down."

Ruby took big gulps of air. "I can do this. I can do this. A few more steps." He closed his eye and tried to forget the cold lump of dead meat on his back and instead focused on his feet. Just a few more steps.

Crystal's words broke his focus. "Okay. You can put her down." She didn't have to tell him twice. He instantly let go, making the body fall into Red's outstretched arms.

"Got her," Red grunted. "Now we can put her by Silver."

Ruby opened his eyes, but his brain couldn't register the new sight they were taking in.  
Crystal was still facing him, and Red was behind him, holding Green. Ruby was still blocking Red's sight of the rest of the room, so Red wouldn't have noticed anything wrong. Crystal had her back facing most of the room, so she wouldn't have seen either. Only he noticed the awful additions to the room.

Crystal must have seen the shock in his eyes. The disgust. Confused, she turned only to let out a shriek.

"What is it," Red asked, slipping past Ruby with Green still in his arms. He stopped dead in his tracks. "But… That's impossible."

It was their friends. All the other dex holders, or at least what was left of them. Blue, White, Sapphire, Silver, Emerald, Platina and Pearl lay across the dining room table. Blood dripped over the edge of the rotting wood onto the floor. Their every wound was clearly visible, despite the low light. Silver and Sapphire's bloody stab wounds, Emerald's slit throat, Pearl and White's charred and bite mark ridden skin, Platina's crushed bones sticking out at odd angles, Blue's lower intestine hanging from the hole in his abdomen, and little Yellow hung from the ceiling by the rope her neck above them all like some gruesome decoration on the wall.

Crystal turned away and emptied the contents of her stomach out on the floor.

Ruby dropped into a dead faint when he saw the blood encrusted hole in Sapphire's back.

Red dropped Green into a nearby chair. Her body slumped forward until her head and shoulders rested against the tabletop near Silver's head. "How did they all get here?" Red asked. A shiver slithered down his spine as he caught sight of Blue's empty eye socket. "I thought the library was blocked? And who could have brought them here?"

"I don't know," Crystal said with a groan. "It's the same answer for any question you could ask about anything that has happened." She swiped her arm across her mouth to get rid of the last of the bile. "Who did this? Who's killing us? Where did everyone disappear to? It's all the same. There's just no answer." She pointed towards the motionless boy on the floor. "Right now, I almost wish I could be out cold like Ruby. Then maybe I'd stop focusing so much on what we don't know."

Red nodded grimly. They both crouched down next to Ruby and tried to wake him. Red shook his shoulders a bit, and Crystal tried calling his name, but it was no use. The boy was dead to the world.

Crystal gave up trying to wake him first. She sat back on her feet and tried to look at anything other than the corpses. "Maybe we can narrow down who could have brought them here, though," she said with a shrug.

Red quite shaking Ruby and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, fifteen of us came to the chateau. There's three of us sitting here that are still breathing, and all we have to do is look at the table to see that nine of us are dead." She narrowed her eyes and looked back out the doorway as if lost in thought. Red didn't like where she was going with this.

"That's twelve," she continued. "So what about the other three?"

Red thought back to all the carefree faces he first saw when they came to the abandoned building. "Well…" he started. "Gold's not on the table." Crystal scrunched her eyes shut at the mention of their friend. "He's been missing for a while now," he continued. "But Gold is too open about everything to stay hidden for long. Plus, he's no killer. That Diamond kid has been missing for a long time too. I don't know much about him, but he didn't seem like a killer. And then there's Black. He disappeared during the golbat and zubat attack like Pearl, but I don't see his body here. It couldn't be him, though. He was with us when Emerald went missing. Not to mention the fact that he was with you when me and the others fell down that hole." Now it was Red's turn to scrunch up his eyes. "He couldn't have been the one who attacked me after we hit the ground."

Crystal buried her face in her hands. "All unlikely killers, gnd yet, those are our options. I don't know what to think."

Red flopped backward onto the cracked tiled floor. He laid there and thought, ignoring the dripping blood splattering the floor a few feet away. "Neither do I Crys."


	14. Chapter 14

"Let go of me, you little bastards!"

The two golbats shrieked as Black flailed his arms. His struggles upset their wingbeats, and sent them spiraling down to the the floor. The moment his sneakers hit the floor boards, he swung around and slammed his arms, golbats and all, into the wall.

The pokemon let out a pained squeak, flapping their wings in protest as he pressed them against the plaster. Angrily, they sank their teeth deeper.

The boy winced. "I said LET GO!" He shouted it loud, with all the passion he used to reserve for screaming out his dream to the world. Anger rushed through his veins, and he started pounding his arms against the wall. He ignored the searing pain where their fangs pressed into his muscle with every blow. He was getting these golbats off, one way or another.

The bat pokemon weren't so determined. Having already slated their thirst with his blood, they didn't see enduring a beating worth it just to hang onto their meal. With one last disappointed squeal, their jaws loosened.

Black yanked his arms back, ripping them out of mouths before the golbats could finish opening them. He stumbled backward and away in case they tried to bite back down. His back bumped into a flickering old TV. The two pokemon beat the air with their wings with an uneven rhythm. They looked back and forth between the room's exit, and Black. One whimpered. Black could tell he'd hurt them.

"Roar!" he shouted, lunging forward and stomping one of his feet loudly.

The two shot away through the doorway, whimpering in fear. Their wingbeats seemed to echo through the walls until even those faded away. Black was alone.

"Ugh. Well that happened," he said. His words came out slurred and he wobbled. Was the room spinning, or was it just him?

He swayed back and forth as his vision swam. He felt so light headed… Those two golbats had practically drained him. Spots danced across his vision as he leaned against the television for support. It groaned in protest. The static hissed at the added pressure.

Maybe he'd take a break? That's it. That's exactly what he needed. A second to stop and wait for the pain to pass.

The boy's arm slid out from under him and he collapsed in a heap on the floor. His cap slipped off his head and tumbled to the floor. He didn't bother to put it back on.

It felt good to sit. To close his eyes and let his head lean back against the TV's plastic casing. Already, the burning in his arms was starting to subside. The problem was his thoughts. They crowded his head. Images of dead dex-holders, passing shadows, all the nightmare fuel happening over the past few hours, all of it buzzed in his head until his brain ached.

He pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead. It was too much at once. He couldn't focus. "I wish Musha was here," he mumbled.

Creak!

The muddled thoughts vanished. Black's head snapped sideways. His eyes flew open. Between the spots swimming across his vision, he could make out a figure pausing in the doorway. He couldn't tell who it was, though.

What if it was the killer? Ignoring the sense of nausea washing over him, the boy heaved himself forward onto his knees. If he was in trouble, he wasn't going down without a fight.

His mouth twisted into a snarl. "Don't come any closer."

WWWWWWWW

Diamond made his way down the hallway. He tried in vain to wipe some of Pearl's blood off his fore arms with his scarf. When it only succeeded in ruining his scarf, he yanked it off and tossed it to the side. He didn't need it anyway.

Things were getting even further out of hand. They had already started to catch on, and it was getting harder to keep hidden. Emerald and Sapphire had seen him in the library, and even though they were out of the picture he was pretty sure Crystal got a glance of him. Maybe he should just come out in the open? It would freak out the remaining dex-holders, but he was running out of options.

At least he still had one locked away.

Speaking of which, Diamond finally felt ready to deal with them. He stopped in front of the last doorway in the hallway and pulled out the key he had found earlier. The key slid into the lock and the deadbolt clicked. He took a deep breath.

The boy peered inside, only to have an extended pool cue bury itself in the wall less than a foot away from his nose.

"Next shot won't miss," someone hissed from inside. Diamond scowled. So he was going to be difficult. Great.

The voice continued, taking on a more threatening tone. "Now let me out of-"

"-I SAID LET GO!"

A loud scream ripped through the chateau. Diamond recognized that voice. It was that frustrating guy. The one Dia had almost gotten into a fist fight with. Black. Looks like he hadn't gotten himself killed yet. Better take care of him first.

Diamond ducked back out of the room. He'd deal with the other one later. His heels pivoted and he took off down the hall.

"Hey," someone behind him shouted. Drat. Diamond had forgotten to relock the door. Oh well.

"Roar!"  
There he was again. Black was just asking to be found. Diamond skidded down the other end of the hallway and slowed his pace. There was Black, leaning against the old TV Rotom used to hide in. Slowly, Dia inched forward until a board creaked under his foot.

When he looked up, the other boy was staring back at him.

"Don't come any closer."

WWWWWW

"This sucks," Gold groaned.

"Yes, well…" A small voice whispered. "Things could be worse…"

Gold laughed at that. It was a cold laugh, void of the all the usual carefree confidence that made Gold, well… Gold. "Hahahaha. Good one. Ya almost had me there. As if things could get worse."

The boy was in an empty room. Any furniture that might have been in the room had long been removed, leaving the space to rot and decay upon itself until the moldy floor was covered with a layer of dust and cobwebs and the wallpaper sagged off the plaster walls. He sat leaning against a cracked beam, pool cue balanced across his knees. His shoulder was a bit bruised from slamming it against the locked door, but otherwise, he was completely fine.

That was more than he could say about his friends.

"If that wall hadn't cut me off from the others… If that BASTARD hadn't locked me in here, I could have protected 'em better." He sighed, clenching his fingers around the cue in his lab. "I could have kept some of 'em from dying."

"Or you could be dead too."

"Psssshhh. Me? Die? People have tried and failed to kill me a dozen times. I don't think this would be much different," he said looking down at the girl sitting next to him.

Her eyes seemed to grow brighter as she met his gaze. "Everyone dies at some point. Even you will eventually. The only thing that beating heart from the departed soul, is how much time the individual has."

Gold rolled his eyes. "Ugh! There you go again with those deep words. I'm older than you, so why do you have to talk like that."

A small smile curled on the edges of her mouth. "Well, actually…"

"Ya ya. I get it," he said waving his hand. "Still, all that philosophical mumbo jumbo ain't helping anybody."

The smile dropped off her face. "Oh. You're right about that at least." With one hand, she reached down and started tracing her finger through the dust. "But still, you're alive. If the gentleman who locked you in here hadn't gotten you away from those monsters, you know you wouldn't have gotten away. He's the reason your heart still beats."

He snorted and folded his arms. "Yeah, well I didn't ask him to help," he said as he watched her trace.

She giggled. "And yet you don't know whether he's trying to help, or saving you to kill later. Funny how something that normally seems good can be warped to mean so many things. Not that it matters to me." The girl's finger left trail after trail in the dust. With one last flourish, she connected the beginning to the end and pulled her hand back.

"So…" Gold started, staring back up at the ceiling. "You sure you can't help me get out of here?"

The girl puffed her cheeks and blew off the remaining dust on her index finger. Dust motes filled the air and danced in the stale light. Satisfied, she cocked her head and looked back at the boy. "No. I can't, but don't worry. He's almost back. You won't stay here for long."

Gold's eyes widened. "Wait… What?! He's coming?"

"Actually, he's already here."

Click

Gold jerked in surprise as the lock on the door clicked open. He scrambled to his feet as the door inched open. A silhouette leaned into view. The pool cue whirled through the air and buried itself a few inches deep into the wall next to their head. A pair of cold blue eyes glared at Gold from the doorway. The boy stood tall, though. "Next shot won't miss," he threatened. "Now let me out of-"

"-I SAID LET GO!"

The shriek seemed to tear through the walls of the mansion. It left Gold's ears ringing. It sounded familiar. Was that Black?

The blue eyes at the door narrowed. They turned and bolted, leaving the door hanging open.

"Hey!" Gold shouted. He started toward the door but froze. He looked back at the girl still leaning against the wall. "You know," he said softly. "Ya didn't have to keep me company. Ya don't have to stay here."

Her eyes seemed to dull at his words. A sad little smile seemed to light her darkened face. "I don't have anywhere else to be. Besides, someone will need to help calm the departed souls of your friends."

Gold gulped. "You'll take good care of them, right?"

She nodded. "Of course. Who else will do it? Goodness knows my butler won't. He isn't very sympathetic. He always was a bitter man, even when alive."

"ROAR!"

Black's voice echoed through the chateau once more. Gold glanced at the door. "Shit. He's already got a head start on me." He'd have to hurry to catch up to Black before his captor got their first. "Hey, thanks-" Gold started looking back at their girl. He blinked in surprise. She was gone. He blinked again, but there was nothing there. Oh well. That's a ghost for you. He sighed and took off out the doorway.

The room was empty once more except for a little drawing left in the layers of dust. A drawing in the shape of a man in a cap, or maybe it was a boy? Either way, it was only there a moment before a breeze that seemed to whisper passed over it, scattering the dust and erasing the picture.

"It was nice meeting you, Gold. See you soon," the breeze whispered, then fell silent once more.

 **I'm SOOOOO sorry I basically abandoned this, as if there are any readers left to read this apology. One word... "HOMESTUCK." Someone finally convinced me to read it and I never realized how long it is. Every second not spent on work/homework went straight to finishing that darn webcomic. I know, it's no excuse.**

 **I'm sorry.**

 **I'm back though, but I can't promise it will be regular postings like it used to be. I'll try to get back into the rythm again, but don't be surprised if I can't keep it up.**

 **-Icy**

 **Death Count: White, Platinum, Pearl, Emerald, Sapphire, Silver, Yellow, Green, and Blue.**


	15. Chapter 15

"Wait… Diamond? Is that really you?"

Black stared at the Sinnoh trainer standing in front of him, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The other boy looked like something out of a horror movie. His clothes were dirty and tattered, with splashes of scarlet blood staining his arms, chest, and legs. Dia's blue eyes stared back, cold and emotionless. It was the knife hanging from his belt loop that drew Black's attention however. The reddened blade had clearly seen plenty of use. It was stained completely to the hilt, and the edge was chipped and dull.

Black inched backward, as far away as he could from the door. "What happened to you?"

Diamond hissed in frustration. So much for the element of surprise. His cover was blown, unless the damage was contained now. "That doesn't matter," he said, stepping into the room.

Black's eyes widened. He pushed against the side of the television to pull himself to his feet and fought back the wave of dizziness that washed over him. He shook his head and scrambled away as the other trainer came closer. "I meant it, Diamond. Don't come any closer."

The other boy's eyes narrowed. He kept coming closer. Black slipped to the side. "Black," Diamond said. "I don't have time to chase after you, or get into another shoving match."

The younger boy gulped and tried to make a run for the doorway. Diamond was there in an instant, blocking the only exit with his body.

"What the hell?" Black shouted. Wasn't he supposed to be the lazy one out of the Sinnoh dex-holders? How was he so fast? Black slid to a halt to keep from running into the guy. He glanced at Diamond's hand. His bloody fingers twitched inches away from the knife at his belt.

"Please, Black," Diamond said with a flat voice. "Just give up."

Black scrambled backwards once more to put some distance between him and the bloody trainer with the knife. "What the heck are you doing, Dia? What is going on?"

Those blue eyes glared back at Black from beneath Diamond's red cap. "I'm doing what needs to be done," he said slowly. "I'm not going to let you out of here unless you come with me."

"And why would I do that," Black spat. His lip curled up in a snarl.

"Because there isn't anything else you can do." Diamond smirked.

The fingers at Black's sides curled into fists. He wished he had flat out punched this guy when he had the chance. "Why?" Black growled. "Why? Why are you doing this? This whole time..."

Diamond blinked in surprise. The smile on his face disappeared. He shook his head quickly and took a step back into the hall. "You don't get it," he said with a cracked voice. "I don't want to see anymore-"

Clunk!

Diamond's shocked face snapped to the side as the handle of Gold's pool cue connected with the side of his head. "Uuuuugh….." he groaned, doubling over and clutching his head.

"Hahah," Gold laughed. "Payback for locking me up, bastard!" he said, telescoping the cue back down and putting it away.

Black watched with wide eyes. What was going on? "Where did you come from," he asked.

Gold rolled his eyes. "From New Bark Town," he scoffed sarcastically. Black frowned. "He had me locked in a room back there," Gold said and pointed with his thumb towards the other end of the hall.

Diamond groaned once more. He whipped the knife out of his belt loop and leaned against the wall to try to push himself back to his feet.

Gold's eyes widened. "Shit." He pulled his foot back and landed a well aimed kick in Diamond's side before scrambling out of the junior's reaching distance. The younger boy toppled to the floor in a fit of coughing.

"Come on," Gold shouted, waving at Black. "I just saved your ass. Let's get outta here before we both end up with a knife in our backside." Shocked and numb, Black nodded and stumbled out into the hallway.

The senior dex-holder rolled his eyes and grabbed the shoulder of Black's jacket. "My Arceus yer slow." With that, he yanked Black past Diamond and half dragged him down the hall. "Looks like it's up to me to get us out of here. Now where did that floor plank go?"

He spotted the crack in the hall wall where he had pushed Crystal out of the way. Over there.

Diamond's knife sliced through the air inches away from Gold's ear as he ran. It clattered to the floor a ways ahead of them. What a cheap shot.

Gold skidded to a halt near the crack in the wall. The two boys turned to see Diamond pull himself back to his feet. He saw Gold smiling deviously and tilted his head in confusion. "See ya, psycho," Gold said triumphantly and slammed his foot down on a raised floorboard. It creaked and sunk below the other floorboards. The walls started to groan.

The Sinnoh trainer's eyes grew wide. "No," he shouted charging forward. Too late. Another wall shot out from the hallway's foundation. Diamond disappeared behind the very wall that had cut Gold off from the rest of the group.

Gold and Black stared at the new wall for a moment.

Black felt like he didn't understand anything that just happened.

The older boy sighed. "We better get movin'. He knows how to open that wall back up. If we're still here when that happens, he'll have us."

Black looked at him. "Last time I saw the others, they were dealing with some zubats and golbats downstairs. We can look down there and tell them about the killer. About… about Dia." He paused, not exactly comfortable thinking of one of the dex-holders as a cold blooded murderer. Even if it was the jerk who let White die.

Gold nodded and started walking down the hallway. Black stood unsure for a moment before following. The senior scratched his head nervously for a moment. "So… uh, Black? I know I've kind of been missin' for a while. And I know a lot of bad things happened while Diamond had me locked away. I just wanted to ask… how bad's the damage?"

The younger boy stared at the floorboards that passed beneath him with every step. "I'm not sure how it all happened myself," he admitted. "I was kind of gone for awhile myself, but it's not good. There's not many of us left."  
"What about Crys, or Red?" Gold pushed nervously. Black shook his head, and Gold sighed in relief.

By now, they had reached the doorway leading out into the foyer. The entered the room carefully, keeping an eye out for any bat pokemon that might have decided to stick around. Seeing none, they worked their way down the stairs.

"Hey," Gold called, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Olly olly oxen free. Where is everyone?"

A girl's voice drifted from the direction of the dining room. "That voice! I'd know that voice anywhere!"

Gold glanced at Black, who simply shrugged. They turned and started towards the dining room doorway, only to have Crystal run out with tears in her eyes.

"Oh my Arceus! Gold, you're alive," she gasped, plowing into a very surprised Gold and knocking him to the ground with a giant hug.

"Hey, Crys," He said. "I could say the same about you." Gold awkwardly wrapped his arms around her to hug her back.

Black laughed despite himself as Red appeared in the dining room doorway. His eyes were wide as he realized the two dex-holders were back.

"You're both back!" he exclaimed with wide eyes. "Gold, where the heck have you been all this time."

The junior smirked and pulled away from Crystal. "It's a long story."

"Ouch," She shouted, smacking him across the face.

He reeled back and rubbed the red mark already appearing on his face. "What was that for?"

"That was for probably breaking my arm. Your hug just made it hurt more," she said angrily and smacked him once more. "And that was for disappearing and letting me think you got yourself killed."

By now, both of his cheeks were red and burning, he rubbed his face in a halfhearted attempt to bring some feeling back to them. He looked at Red for help, but the older boy just shrugged and gave him look that read, 'you're the one that made everyone worry, you have to deal with this yourself.' Gold frowned and looked back to the other Johto trainer. "Geez, Crystal. Sorry. I never meant to break your arm, and I told you I'd survive, didn't I?"

"I guess," she conceded and sighed. "Oh shut up and come here," she said and hugged him once more, burying her face in his shoulder. Gold's face softened and he held her close. This time, he was much more gentle near her arm.

* * *

 **Death Count: Silver, Sapphire, Emerald, White, Blue, Pearl, Green, Yellow, and Platina.**

 **Live Count: Ruby, Crystal, Gold, Black, and Red.**

 **Missing Count: Diamond**

 **Turns out, I accidentally left out an important chapter a while back. Everything's fixed now. I just added what was supposed to be chapter 6 to the end of chapter 5 so now you all can read the the chapter I accidentally missed. Just go back to 5 and reread to see what you missed. Sorry if anyone was confused. It won't happen next time. ;)**


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